PM Imran directs immediate release of under-trial women prisoners
PM asks for implementation of Supreme Court order 299/2020 for release of under-trial and convicted women prisoners
September 03, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday gave directions for the immediate release of women prisoners currently under-trial in light of the Supreme Court's verdict.
The prime minister said on Twitter he took the decision after meeting the Ministry of Human Rights officials, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan and Barrister Ali Zafar.
“I have asked for immediate implementation of SC order 299/2020 for release of Under Trial women prisoners & convicted women prisoners who fulfill criteria of SC Order,” wrote PM Imran.
He further said he summoned reports pertaining to foreigner women prisoners on death row for “humanitarian consideration”.
PM asks for timeline on prison reforms
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the prime minister has asked for a complete timeline on prison reforms implementation.
“A great move forward for human rights & humanitarian approach to prisoners. This is just the start," Mazari wrote on Twitter.
"PM has asked for a complete timeline on prison reforms implementation - our Report on prison reforms is ready & now going to prepare implementation timelines with Barr Ali Zafar,” she added.
Last week, the minister had presented a report on the plight of women in Pakistan’s prisons, aimed at highlighting their problems comprehensively, to PM Imran Khan.
The premier had on May 29 formed a committee to study and investigate the plight of women in prisons.
Mazari announced on Twitter that 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.
PM congratulates Barrister Ali Zafar on Prime Minister's Prisoners Reform Committee package
PM Imran had constituted the Prime Minister’s Prisoners Reforms Committee (PPAC) last year under the chairmanship of Barrister Syed Ali Zafar to inspect the existing condition of prisons in Pakistan and recommend suggestions on how to improve them in a report.
The body constituted by the premier comprised of PTI MNA Maleeka Ali Bukhari, MPA Aleem Khan, federal interior secretary, home secretaries and inspectors general (IG) prisons of Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, chief commissioner Islamabad and Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid as its members.
After the committee presented its reforms package report, PM Imran took to Twitter to congratulate Zafar and other members of the committee.
"Congratulations to Ali Zafar & mbrs [members] of PM's Prisoners Aid Committee, which finalised its reform package report for effective prison reform," PM Imran wrote on his official Twitter handle.
The PPAC had recommended easing bail provisions by having them amended so that under-trial prisoners can be released earlier, especially in cases where suspects face less than three years' imprisonment.
'Urgent need' to release sick, under-trial prisoners, says Mazari
Mazari has previously addressed the issue of releasing under-trial prisoners, particularly the ones who are sick as well. The minister had stressed on "prison reforms" back in April to bring Pakistan up to international human rights standards.
"I have requested the Attorney General to submit the MoHR's legal brief, shared with him earlier today, before the Supreme Court in Criminal Petition No. 299/2020," she had said on Twitter.
In January this year, Mazari had submitted a report to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the plight of prisoners in Pakistan.
According to the report prepared and submitted by the minister, an estimated 5,189 prisoners in jails across the country are suffering from HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases, showed a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) by Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.
The court had earlier formed a commission, headed by Shireen Mazari, to present a complete report on the facilities and recommendations for reforms in jails, The News reported.
The report revealed that an estimated 425 prisoners were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. A further breakdown of the cases showed that in Punjab 225 male and two female convicts were suffering from the disease, 115 male and one female in Sindh was found contracted with the disease, while 39 cases were found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 13 in Balochistan.
