December 31, 2006	Sunday	Zilhaj 09, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, Dec 30: Several prisoners in the overcrowded Adiala jail frequently complain, through their lawyers, relatives and friends to the apex and lower court judges of torture by the jail staff.

Besides torture and extortion of money, they also complain about poor standard of food, sanitation, unhygienic living condition, overcrowding and slow and flawed judicial system.

Due to pending cases in the courts, many under-trial prisoners often end up languishing several years in prison. There had been criminal cases registered with the police and high level inquiries launched, some ordered by the chief justice of Pakistan, against the jail staff ranking from the superintendent to jail wardens during 2006.

Unfortunately, the outcome was zero as all the jail staff members who had either been accused or found guilty involving in torture and other cases and even subsequently suspended by the IG prisons, were later reinstated by the Punjab government. While those (the torture victims) who had complained against the jail staff were punished for their complaints.

Clashes between the prisoners and the jail staff, hunger strikes and protests by prisoners were seen in the jail during previous year. Later the situation was brought under control by the jail authorities either by reshuffling the jail staff as well as by shifting of trouble makers to other jails.

But inspector general of prisons Punjab Sarfraz Ahmed Mufti, when contacted expressed his satisfaction over command and control and facilities being provided to the prisoners.

He hinted Quetta and Mutch jail incidents in which condemned prisoners had escaped by breaking jail security. The IG Prisons expressed his satisfaction that no such major incident had taken place anywhere in Punjab jails. However, the IG prisons acknowledged that there were some minor incidents in Adiala jail but he said: “It was now going peaceful.”