BASIC NECESSITIES FOR PRISONERS & CONST. OF DOUBLE STOREY BARRACKS

WELFARE FUND TO BE UTILIZED PROPERLY: SR. MINISTER PUNJAB

SR. LEADERS REMAINED IN JAIL BUT DID NOTHING: A. ALEEM KHAN

Senior Minister Punjab Abdul Aleem Khan has said that provision of basic necessities of life to the prisoners in all circumstances is must. The prisoners should be provided with basic necessities of daily use. He added that the senior political leaders and officers have gone to jail but the conditions of jails have not changed and still the situation of many jails is deplorable and there is lot of room for improvement. 

While presiding over the review meeting of Prisons Department Punjab, Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that it was inhumane to have more inmates in the barracks than the capacity and there was a need to build new double storey barracks in different jails to increase the capacity. Similarly funds allocated for the welfare of prisoners and jail staff must be used properly. Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that prisons and other concerned departments would have to take concerted action for which the next review meeting would be held next week at Kot Lakhpat Jail to review the situation on the spot. In the same way, after that we will visit a prison where there are a lot of problems, Abdul Aleem Khan added. He said that keeping in view the existing requirements, private businesses entrepreneurs should be involved in better marketing of the products manufactured by the inmates so that they can get the best compensation for their labor. Senior Minister Punjab said that in the light of his observations in the jail, Abdul Aleem Khan Foundation has been carrying out welfare measures for the inmates in 5 Jails of Sheikhupura, Kasur and Multan, including Kot Lakhpat Jail where model barracks have been set up by upgrading basic facilities including washrooms and significant relief has been provided to the inmates. Senior Minister said that we will have to focus on the welfare and betterment of the inmates as well as the jail authorities so that they can perform their duties in a better way.

Speaking at the high-level review meeting, Minister for Prisons Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chauhan said that there was scope for many reforms in the prisons and as per the directions of Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, practical work for improvement would be started soon.  Special Secretary Home, DIG Prisons, Officers from Planning & Development Department and other institutions also attended the meeting and highlighted the situation of prisons, possible reforms and various issues related to their respective areas.