KARACHI: Administrator Karachi, Sindh government Spokesman and CM Advisor on Law Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Thursday said that Sindh is the first province in Pakistan where an Act for prisons has been enacted and implemented.
"We must reform the prisoners and try to make them better citizens of the society, the Administrator said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of a park for children at Karachi Central Jail.
Senior officers including Inspector General of Prisons Qazi Nazir Ahmed, DIG Karachi Central Jail Hassan Sehto, and others were present. Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that prisoners also have rights in jails which must be respected. Before 2019, we had the British-enacted law of 1894, the purpose of which was to control the people and to create fear in them. He said that after the independence, it was necessary to amend it.
He said that after assuming the post of law advisor to the Sindh government in 2018, the first thing he did was to formulate laws for police reforms and prisoner reforms to priority to human rights and dignity and well-being of prisoners. He said that Sindh Legal Aid Centre is working to provide constitutional and legal protection to common man. "The Committee for the Welfare of prisoners Legal Aid has been set up to provide legal assistance to prisoners," he added.
He said that innocent children who are incarcerated in jail along with their convicted mothers should be provided with free environment and opportunities for education and training. He asked the children serving sentences for various crimes to strive to become good citizens after serving their sentences.
He said that better plans can be made only under public-private partnership. We have improved Sindh's infrastructure, hospitals and justice system to the citizens and this will continue in future also, he said.
Addressing the function, IG Prisons Qazi Nazir Ahmed said that conditions in prisons were very bad before 2008. He said that officers' and staff salaries were low and performance was not good,
He said that the laws of 1894 and 1900s were enacted to serve the needs of the British Raj, under which prisoners were separated from society and punished by being handcuffed, which was extremely cruel, so this law has been repealed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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