- The classifications were not made by the last government
The Punjab government has made a policy for Mian Nawaz Sharif’s visits, according to the jail manual, under which the jail superintendent will be the final authority to decide requests. The decision must be seen in the light of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent statements about the iniquity of the rich and the poor getting different treatment in jail. That does not seem to acknowledge the reality that the various classifications were made keeping in view the difference made to people by their wealth, possessions and education. It should not be forgotten that the classifications were introduced in the jail manual by the Raj, mainly for the convenience of the jail authorities.
In the present case, it should not be forgotten that those wanting to meet a political leader are very numerous, and includes a large number of people influential in their own right. While Mr Khan might self-righteously proclaim that Mian Nawaz was corrupt, it should not be forgotten that those who wish to meet him do so because his party obtained 12.9 million votes in the last election. Mr Khan cannot ascribe these votes to corruption or purely the defence of the corrupt. The jail authorities themselves would have a more peaceful life if they are allowed to release the steam of those wanting a meeting, rather than forcing it to build up by a draconian meetings policy.
The trend worldwide has been for leniency in treating prisoners, because the emphasis has changed from punishment to reform. In particular, where offenders have been convicted to white-collar crimes, no matter what the amount, they are treated differently from those convicted to crimes of violence. To wish for an application of outdated penal laws is first of all to equate white-collar financial crime to something worse than violence, and then it smacks of a spirit of vengeance, which is not supposed to have a place in the criminal justice system, which is supposed to control, even check, that spirit, rather than slake it. While the jail manual should be followed, jail superintendents must be allowed to exercise discretion so they can run their jail efficiently, but not vengefully.
