PM Imran receives report on plight of women in Pakistan’s prisons

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday received a report from the Ministry of Human Rights on the plight of women in Pakistan’s prisons which aims to highlight their problems comprehensively.

On May 29, PM Imran had formed a committee to study and investigate the plight of women in prisons.

Taking to Twitter, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said she had presented the report to the prime minister.

She thanked all the provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the committee's two civil society experts, and the staff of the Ministry of Human Rights for their support and contribution in the preparation of the report.

At the time the committee was formed, in a series of tweets, the PM Office said: “The committee has been constituted taking into account the plight of the female prisoners, whether convicted or awaiting trial, in overall context of gender biasness prevalent in the society at large and issues associated therewith.”

The committee comprises Mazari as its chairperson and the ministry's secretary as secretary, while the interior secretary, home secretaries and the inspectors-general of prisons of the four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) founder and executive director Sarah Belal, and lawyer Haya Zahid were included as its members.

The PM’s Office said that the committee would "assess whether Prison Rules, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and international best practices are being adhered to with respect to women prisoners, especially their protection, rights, health, security, and wellbeing".

While addressing the physical, psychological, emotional, and sociological needs, the committee would ensure the availability of gender-specific services for women prisoners. It would review prison rules and other relevant laws to suggest gender-specific improvements for women inmates.