Islamabad: Pakistan’s first-ever high security prison is ready for inauguration in Sahiwal in Punjab province.
The jail has been set up after militants staged spectacular jailbreaks in the previous year to set free hundreds of terrorists.
The jail, constructed on 98 acres with an estimated cost of Rs930.206 million (Dh33 million), will have the capacity to hold 1,044 prisoners, the Dawn reported.
The break-up of the new jail’s structure, staff strength and the equipment installed shows that as many as 841 officials, from superintendent orderly to jail superintendent, have been recruited by the prisons’ department on a temporary basis with a cost of Rs488.826 million.
The Punjab government had hired services of National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) Haripur to install security gadgets, IT-related equipment and CCTV surveillance system at the jail. So far, a control room, switch room, fire alarm system, CCTV cameras, UPS, blocker barrier, under vehicle surveillance system, electro-mechanical barriers and other modern features have been installed.
Initially, prisoners serving terms in ordinary cases would be transferred to the jail on trial basis, to be followed by those relating to terrorism and sectarian cases.
The prison was speedily completed and made ready to host inmates following the announcement of National Action Plan by the PML-N government, and establishment of military courts, speedy trails and executions of terrorists.
In April 2013, Taliban stormed Bannu district jail in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and released more than 400 inmates, mostly dreaded militants.
Those released included Adnan Rashid, who was facing a death sentence for the attack on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
In December 2013, militants attacked Dera Ismail Khan jail in the same province and released more than 175 prisoners.
