Prison reforms

The Islamabad High Court has directed the government to establish human rights courts within the current week in a case related to the torture of prisoners at the Adiala jail, and to set up a complaint cell there as well. During the hearing of a case by the mother of a prisoner regarding torture inflicted on prisoners in Adiala, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the trial of cases of human rights violations will be held in special courts. In light of a report submitted to the court by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) about alleged human rights violations in Adiala jail, Justice Minallah said that it seemed less like a prison and more like a torture cell. Adiala has 180 per cent more prisoners than its capacity and there is only one doctor for 4,000 prisoners. The NCHR report and the proceedings in the IHC point to another important issue – the need for both prison and police reforms. It is no secret how inmates are treated in our prisons and regular reports from there paint a horrifying picture – from custodial torture to inhumane living conditions to juvenile prisoners with nowhere to go.

Jails in Pakistan have never served as correction centres, but the bare minimum expectation is that the time spent under imprisonment would not be harrowing to inmates and to their visitors. While the court has ordered action against the inspector-general of prisons in Punjab and the superintendent of Adiala jail, the Punjab government has also been asked to look into the matter and submit a report. Recent reports regarding some of the incarceration facilities in the country have highlighted not just corruption and bribery along with drug use but also accusations of jail staff in some areas sexually assaulting women visitors who come to see their relatives in prison.

A system based on exploitation manifests itself at all places, including jails. Rich inmates end up getting preferential treatment while those with humble means or no means at all end up suffering. What is needed is strict adherence to the law. There are detailed protocols already given in jail manuals to prevent corruption and extortion from inmates and their visitors. Civil society and human rights activists have been asking for police and prison reforms for decades now. Over the years, many politicians have promised to reform the system but none delivered on their promises. Police reforms are extremely important given how politicized the police department has become and how it is used as a tool of force and coercion by almost all political parties when they are in government. Pakistan’s politics unfortunately thrives on the infamous ‘thana-kutcheri’ culture. For a common citizen, the thought of going to a police station or a court is terror-inducing. Why is it that the police, which are meant to serve and protect its people, are instead so feared? Why is it that, rather than helping and serving the people – which is their job – the police end up harassing those that have the misfortune of having to go file complaints with them? In a faulty criminal justice system, many innocent people languish in jails for months, if not years in any case. We have seen reports of how people have been hanged in cases even though nothing was proved against them. Regardless, though, of their innocence or guilt, every human – even a convicted criminal – has the right to basic dignity. There should be a difference between prisons and torture cells – something some much-needed reform needs to ensure.