LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday directed the authorities to transform prison cells into genuine rehabilitation centres, ordering comprehensive reforms aimed at improving inmates’ welfare, prison infrastructure and correctional services across the province.
As many as 27 additional barracks are under construction to reduce overcrowding in prisons, while work on new jails in Chiniot and Murree is progressing rapidly.
Chairing a high-level meeting on prison reforms, the chief minister reviewed progress on ongoing initiatives and was presented with a detailed plan to address prison overcrowding and modernise the jail system. A video report on the under-construction Nankana Sahib jail was presented during the meeting. The chief minister approved Rs 1.3 billion for its early completion and set September this year as the deadline for completing both the Nankana Sahib and Samundri jails.
She directed the authorities to ensure quality beds, play areas, vocational training and regular education facilities for children living with incarcerated mothers. She also ordered the upgradation of juvenile prisons and approved the introduction of a modern Remission Management System for prisoners.
The CM Punjab ordered that 30 prison vans used for transporting inmates be remodelled and converted into air-conditioned vehicles equipped with washrooms, camera screens and ergonomic seating. She also approved the provision of mattresses in male prisoners’ barracks and directed regular inspections to ensure the quality of food served to inmates.
The officials presented a weekly diet plan for prisoners and informed the meeting that welfare stores had been established in prisons for inmates. Special nutritional supplements have also been introduced for imprisoned mothers and children up to six years of age.
The meeting was informed that three modern women’s prisons are being established in Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. Comfortable waiting sheds, transport carts and family rooms for prisoners’ relatives are also being restored.
Briefing the meeting, officials said special attention was being paid to education and social development of children at the juvenile borstal institutions in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.
Under the Chief Minister Punjab Literacy Programme, 4,141 inmates have been registered for education. Under the “One Barrack, One Library” policy, 472 prisoners have completed matriculation, 367 intermediate education and 140 graduation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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