High security jail in Mardan turned into central prison

PESHAWAR: Though the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister inaugurated the well-equipped prison at Mardan as a high security prison of the province, authorities later notified it as a central prison. 

On October 14, 2015, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak inaugurated Mardan prison as high security prison. It has three-layer security walls and the capacity to accommodate around 3,500 prisoners, including 250 dangerous prisoners.

“The authorities did not declare the Mardan prison a high security prison as it was situated in the populated area near Sheikh Maltoon town on Mardan-Nowshera Road. The security of the surrounding populated area might have been in danger had dangerous prisoners been shifted there,” an official of the Prisons Department told The News. He also argued that there was dire need for a central prison for the prisoners from Mardan, Swabi and Buner districts.

However, he said that arrangements have already been made at Kohat and Lakki Marwat prisons to keep the dangerous prisoners there in high security.

Mardan District Nazim Himayatullah Mayar said he had also received a letter from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department stating that the Mardan prison had been declared a central prison. He recalled that on September 3, 2016 the Apex Committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a meeting had decided to declare the newly constructed district jail at Mardan as a high security prison.

On the other hand, a writ petition was pending before the Peshawar High Court, in which father of Mashal Khan had requested the court to shift the trial of the Mashal Khan lynching case to Haripur central prison.

However, the lawyers appearing for the parents of the accused had requested the court that the central prison Mardan was secure for hearing of the case as it had the capacity to adjust high number of prisoners, including dangerous ones.

As per the official record, the Mardan Central Prison was built on a large area of at least 342 kanals at a cost of Rs1.7 billion.

Separate barracks have been made in the lockup for as many as 250 dangerous prisoners at a time. Security cameras have also been installed in the cells for prisoners under observation. The prison has a total of 36 barracks. At least 99 cells each have been reserved for juveniles and women prisoners.

The prison has death cells and two special security sectors, each having 62 cells. The jail also has a mosque that accommodates as many as 500 people and a hospital with 180 beds.

The main control room of the jail is equipped with advanced gadgets and can only be opened with programmed thumb impressions.

There are three interview rooms for the male, female and A and B class prisoners, gallows cell for executions and a store besides barber and welfare shops, establishment office and three overhead water tanks.

As per the record, the new prison has three-layered security walls, mobile pickup for round-the-clock surveillance, floodlights in the sectors and on towers, streetlights both inside and outside the prison area and electric alarm system.

In addition, there is pop-up blocker, 11 watchtowers on perimeter wall, six pickets on the wall, four on the main gates, eight pickets in prison colony and outer gate, walkthrough gates/detectors, steel barrier in front of outer main gate (first entrance), and guard rooms in all sectors.

There are 399 CCTV cameras, RCC wall around the jail premises, three electric gates and eight jammers.

The facilities for prisoners include a mosque, geysers in female and juvenile sections and family quarters, laundry for prisoners in all sections, steel shelf and hangers in barracks, 180-bed hospital having physician, surgeon and other specialist doctors, computerised interview system and PCO(s) in all sectors.