Minister’s surprise visit to jail opens Pandora’s box

LAHORE: A surprise visit to the Kot Lakhpat Jail by Punjab Prisons Minister Zawaar Hussain Warraich in a dramatic way has opened a Pandora’s box in the Prisons Department.

The minister has forwarded a report to the Punjab chief minister, recommending the suspension of Superintendent Jail Ch Ijaz Asghar and Deputy Superintendent Executive Zaheer Virk on the charges of corruption, shutting down jammers at night and accommodating prisoners in the high security barracks. Zawaar Warraich visited the jail at around 3:15am on Thursday along with six people in civvies. According to the spokesperson of the minister, the surprise visit team led by the minister examined different areas of the prison. On reaching Kitchen, he checked attendance register. Only 29 kitchen prisoners were found on work while 40 others were sleeping. The minister found bread pots (changairs) very dirty and made of substandard material. He weighed the flour for bread which was less than the standard weight. The minister observed that the mobile service was on at 2:55 minutes and was closed at 4:09 minutes whereas it should remain suspended for 24 hours. He witnessed that the prisoners who were allegedly bribing the superintendent and deputy superintendent on a monthly basis were allowed to use uniform and refrigerators. He also witnessed that common prisoners were accommodated in the high security cell so they could enjoy protocol.

During interviews of the prisoners, they complained about substandard and the same type of meal three times a day. They said that medicines were not available in the jail. The statement of the spokesperson concludes that Duty Officer Muhammad Yousaf was also there at the time of their visit. The sources said that the minister forwarded the report of his visit to the home secretary and the IG Jails as well. On the other hand, Superintendent Jail Ijaz Asghar without wasting any time quickly sent a letter about the surprise visit to his higher command to clear his stance. In the letter, he termed the surprise visit against the jail rules. He claimed the minister and his team misbehaved with the jail staff and tried to create a law and order situation. The letter of the superintendent to the IG Jails states that he received information of the surprise visit of the minister from the control room at 3:15am following which he rushed to the jail. As he was in front of porch, he found DS Judicial Arshad and DS Executive Zaheer Ahmad Virk standing there. They told him that the minister stopped entry of all officials into the jail. As the superintendent managed to get the main gate opened from the guard, the men in civvies standing in the porch misbehaved with him, saying the minister disallowed the entry of the officers. The superintendent says he felt humiliated and sat in his office. He pointing out the anomalies and violations of Pakistan Prisons Rules 1978 stated that only Darban of the porch could keep the keys of the main gate whereas the minister snatched them from him and handed them over to an unknown person clad in civil dress, so virtually handed over the security of the jail to a suspected person. He then stated that the team of the minister misbehaved with the cop deputed at Special Point-1 (Peco Check Post) and searched the cop deputed at Mohafiz-1 (Main Gate). He alleged that the people in civvies entered the jail by removing barriers forcibly and collected walkie-talkie from all employees.

He mentioning Rule 922 of Prisons Rules stated that nobody could visit the jail once the jail was locked but the minister barged into the jail in the wee hours. He stated that the jail could not be visited without security squad but the minister breached all security protocols that could have resulted in some untoward incident like it happened in the Sialkot Jail. Ijaz Asghar pointed out that the minister and his team entered the jail premises along with cell phones, which was not allowed to any visitor. Further, he pointed out violation of Rule 725. He stated that the night officer and the high security guard were closed in the porch of High Security Block and the high security value targets were opened without any security cover. In Para 9 of the letter, the superintendent pointed out that at least 109 hardened criminals and terrorists were imprisoned in the high security blocks. The minister took the keys of the block and opened it which could have resulted in some untoward incident. He said the minister and his staff also violated Rule 1166 by not allowing the search of the team during entrance into jail, rather they expressed displeasure over it. Rules 970 and 971 binds the superintendent to take precautionary measures to stop the fleeing of prisoners but he was not allowed to perform his duties. He concluded that he was not allowed to perform his duties according to the rules due to which he and his entire staff were demoralized despite giving best performance for the last 18 years.