The Sindh government has decided to construct eight new jails including two in Karachi citing the shortage of space for prisoners.
The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah and Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz in Karachi.
Inspector General of Prisons Nusrat Hussain while briefing the meeting said the overall space of jails across the province is 13,038 while 17,239 prisoners are currently present in the prison cells.
Hussain said that 6,886 prisoners are being given education facility from primary to masters level. He added that four progress reports were submitted in the Supreme Court (SC) regarding jail reformations while the next report will be filed in the first week of January 2020.
During the meeting, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Ali Shah announced that new jails will be constructed in Thatta, Nawabshah, Qambar Shahdadkot, Kandhkot, Mithi, Karachi’s Malir and District West.
He directed authorities to prepare a summary for acquiring 100 and 200 acre land for jails in Malir and West districts respectively. The provincial chief secretary also ordered jail authorities to conduct medical screening of new prisoners.
Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahzad lauded the construction of new prisons to deal with the shortage of space and to step up efforts for rehabilitation of prisoners.
