KARACHI – The jail reforms proposed by President Asif Ali Zardari – Benazir Prison Reform Package – seem to have hit a snag as the Sindh government has not made any progress on the plan even after the passage of more than two years.
Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today that the Finance Department has not released a single paisa for the proposed reforms despite repeated attempts by the prisons department for the release of funds.
In October 2008, President Zardari had directed the Sindh government to prepare a comprehensive plan for jail reforms in accordance with the reports of parliamentary committees and international human rights’ organisations.
The president had also directed the officials to facilitate poor prisoners, provide training and education to jail officials, while paying special attention to improve the conditions for women prisoners, besides providing prisoners with all basic facilities including quality food.
The provincial government had allocated Rs 1.4 billion under the head of the reforms programme in the 2009-10 budget. The provincial prisons department chalked out the ‘Benazir Prison Reform Package’, planning to set up water coolers, mini-theatres, small hospitals, toilets, compound walls, bathrooms, CCTV cameras, walkthrough gates and modern security equipments, with at least Rs 200 million from the Finance Department.
Meanwhile, funds worth Rs 1.2 billion were released without any hindrance to different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in a move to provide free legal advocacy, surety money, payment of fine and legal aid to prisoners, but the remaining Rs 200 million for actual jail reforms have still not been released.
Sources alleged that finance department was delaying the release of funds as the prisons department had refused to pay any kickbacks to finance officials for the release of funds.
“At least Rs 200 million are available with the Sindh Finance Department for the jail reforms package but the department is arbitrarily delaying their release,” said Inspector General of Prisons Ghulam Qadir Thebo, while talking to Pakistan Today.
“The funds were released in May last year and we were supposed to utilise the Rs 200 million in just a month,” he said, adding that the prisons department surrendered the funds to the finance department as they could not be utilised in the short span of time.
