ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah has ordered action against the Inspector General Prisons, Punjab, and the Adiala Jail Superintendent over gross violations of human rights (HR), incidents of torture and ill-treatment of the inmates.
The justice’s directives follow a report submitted by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR).
The inquiry report was prepared at the behest of Minallah on the basis of a complaint of custodial torture filed by an imate Imtiaz Bibi.
The court has also directed the federal government to set up human rights courts within a week, adding a trial of human rights violations would be held in the special court.
The court also directed to set up a complaint cell in Adiala jail.
NCHR report
The NCHR team visited Adiala Jail eight times during the course of investigation and prepared a report after meeting with inmates and recording their statements.
Through these inspections the NCHR team uncovered various issues ranging from administrative incapacities to the blatant torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
According to the findings, 74 per cent spoke of instances of torture and extortion whereas 100 per cent corroborated instances of financial extortion for even the rightful facility provided at the jail.
Overcrowding, lack of medical care
Adiala Jail is overcrowded with some 6,098 inmates housed in a jail that has the capacity of 2,174.
Besides, lack of medical personnel — one doctor for 5,851 prisoners — and medical budget which is 1/7 of the original demand, inedible food and unhealthy conditions were also pointed out.
Violation of Mandela Rule
There is a system steeped in financial extortion to get access to basic rights and facilities within the jail, the report finds adding, accounts of torture ranged from physical beatings to solitary confinement which is a violation of Rule 44 of the Mandela Rules ratified by Pakistan.
Another issue uncovered by the investigation team was the plight of juvenile prisoners due to the lack of implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018.
No legal support for juveniles
There are 79 (out of 82) juveniles who are under trial. Out of them, 29 are without legal representation which is again in contravention to Section 3(1) of the JJSA, 2018. 75 per cent of juveniles have no father and they come from the most impoverished sections of society.
Without any support from family or state, even those granted bail have no recourse to sureties, no place to go, and will often remain incarcerated with habitual and hardened juvenile offenders.
Jail or Concentration Camp
The judge lauded the report as a detailed and comprehensive look into the true face of the prison system in Pakistan, likening Adiala Jail to a “concentration camp” rather than a reformatory institution, where “justice is denied to the weak and vulnerable because the prevailing system allows its exploitation by the privileged and those who wield influence.”
