Nowshera college declared sub-jail to lessen burden on prison

NOWSHERA: Keeping in view the directives of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the district administration on Thursday declared the Government College of Management Sciences, Manki Sharif Road, a sub-jail to address overcrowding issue at the Nowshera Prison. The step was taken to cut the number of the prisoners in the Nowshera Prison as a team of the PHC judges during a recent visit had expressed concern over the overcrowding there.

Up to 200 prisoners will be shifted to the sub-jail on an emergency basis. This action is expected to ensure social distancing to some extent and help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Another report said that a patient tested positive for coronaviris (Covid-19), thus bringing the total tally of such patients to five in the district. The patient was admitted to the Qazi Medical Complex (QMC) and was among the five people undergoing treatment there. One woman patient, 85-year-old Taj Bibi, had died the previous day while four others were stated to be in a stable condition. Six patients were quarantined for showing coronavirus symptoms while two were kept in the isolation ward of the QMC. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Shahhid Ali Khan presided over a meeting of religious scholars from different schools of thought at his office.

In the light of the consensus decision taken by the Mufti Taqqi Usmani and other known religious scholars of the country, it was decided to ban the congregation of prayer at the mosques for more than five people. It was decided that people would offer Zuhr prayers at homes instead of Juma prayers as a step to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

While talking to the reporters, Awami National Party (ANP) central secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that we should forge unity to overcome the challenge posed by the coronavirus. The senior ANP leader said social distancing and isolation should be observed and the directives issued by the health professionals complied with to protect the people from contacting the viral disease which is killing and effecting people the world over.