Sindh’s prisons are gaining notoriety after appearing in the court a few days ago, a prisoner, Zohaib Qureshi was taken by the police to the mall on Tariq Road for a ‘shopping spree’ from where he fled. Just a few days after this incident, anotherbizarre incident has raised questions and concerns on how jails in the province are being run. In Central Jail Larkana, prisoners took seven police personnel hostage on Monday February 7.

This happened when 70 inmates were ordered to be transferred to another jail, after which the inmates in the jail started protesting against the administration. Police launched an operation against the prisoners who had held police personnel hostage which led to clashes between inmates and the police with prisoners succeeded in holding seven policemen hostage, forcing police to negotiate with them. The prisoners demanded that the prisoners who had been moved be transferred back to Larkana Jail.

The superintendent of Larkana Central Jail, Ashfaq Kalwar says thatLarkana Central Jail is one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country. It has a sanctioned strength of 650 prisoners; it actually houses a total of 1,033. 482 among them are undertrial. Only 200 police officers, he explains, are on duty round the clock. The jail has prisoners involved in terrorism, robbery, police encounters and other serious crimes.

The superintendent of Larkana Central Jail, Ashfaq Kalwar says that Larkana Central Jail is one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country. It has a sanctioned strength of 650 prisoners; it actually houses a total of 1,033. 

Sources say that the incident took place because the management of jail has been providing illegal facilities to inmates. These facilities, they allege, include supply of drugs to the inmates, taking them to visit their homes, for shopping, providing mobile phone and internet service for a price.

Liaquat Pirzada, a superintendent of this prison was suspended on July 8, 2021. However, the reasons for this action were never brought on the record. The jail’s conditions have become more concerning over time with inmates having a history of staging protests against the jail administration to demand unlawful favours.

Ashfaq Kalwar, the Larkana Jail superintendent, says that in the recent incident, some policemen had surrendered to the inmates “in order to maintain the old tradition in the jail”. A formal inquiry is underway. Kalwar says the prisons IG has been provided the details regarding the incident. The police personnel present in the jail have also allegedly been on duty in the same place for over 15 years now and should be transferred. The police and Rangers are mulling over conducting a ‘grand’ search operation in the jail. This scribe reached out to the prisons IG, but was unable to get his comments.

The writer is a journalist specialising in reporting on crime in Karachi