Petition seeking establishment of kitchen at prison disposed of

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Saturday disposed of a petition seeking establishment of a kitchen for the prisoners in Peshawar Prison.

A division bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali disposed of the petition after the court was informed that a kitchen had already been established for the inmates in Peshawar Prison.

Two prisoners identified as Wasiullah and Tufail had filed a petition fos establishment of a kitchen for poisoners to prepare their own meals at the Peshawar Central Poison.

Earlier, petitioners’ lawyer Nauman Muhib Kakakhel told the court that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Jail Rules 2018 allowed under-trial prisoners to cook their own food, but only through the use of coal.

He pleaded that use of coal was harmful to health with regular use and affects the taste of the food as well.

The lawyer argued that in summer, attendance was taken after 7 pm, while in winter after 5pm, after which the barracks were locked, preventing prisoners from cooking outside.

As a result, he said that 3,300 prisoners in the Peshawar Central Prison alone faced difficulties.

He said that while the prisoners’ freedom of movement was restricted, their fundamental and legal rights remained intact within the jail.

The lawyer argued that there were no alternative cooking arrangements for the prisoners and the existing ones were unhealthy and did not meet the required standards.

The Additional Advocate General informed the court that after the filing of the writ petition, a newly built kitchen and all the necessary facilities on the prison’s premises had been provided.

He presented pictures showing that prisoners were now allowed to cook for themselves.

After arguments, the bench disposed of the writ petition as the issue of cooking had been resolved following the construction of the new kitchen at Peshawar Central Prison.