KARACHI: In a long-delayed move, the Sindh government will start installing mobile phone jammers in all seven prisons of the province within the next week after the federal government and intelligence agencies gave a go-ahead to the Rs80 million project, it emerged on Wednesday.

A senior official confirmed to Dawn that federal institutions including the ministry of IT and telecom and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had approved the provincial government’s proposal to install jammers.

“A team of defence production ministry recently completed its survey in this regard and we expect the jammers will be installed anytime soon over the next week,” Sindh additional chief secretary of home Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah told Dawn.

“The Sindh government has allocated Rs80 million for the project and set up a committee with the IG prisons as its head to execute and supervise the project. It will be launched simultaneously in all seven prisons,” he said.

He said the project was part of the government’s long-term plan to put in place maximum checks on the jail inmates and finally ban use of mobile phone. The project for installation of jammers would be completed within a few weeks, he said.

Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had directed the home department to speed up installation of jamming devices in prisons while chairing a recent meeting on law and order in Karachi and jail reforms.

The meeting discussed the disturbing issue of hardened criminals who were running their gangs from inside the prisons and the intelligence agencies reports that certain criminals in the Central Prison Karachi were in communication with their gangs outside.

“In cahoots with the black sheep in the jail administration these criminals are able to pull strings while staying behind bars,” said an official.

Mr Shah was also quoted by the sources as warning the jail managements that they would be held accountable for breach in security measures and whosoever was found involved in providing means of communication to the prisoners would be dealt with sternly.

The Sindh government had floated the proposal for jammers in jails in 2010 but at that time its request was not entertained by the federal institutions and the intelligence agencies.

“The use of mobile phones by high-profile jail inmates is no more a secret as the jail authorities have conceded that in some cases, prisoners have been found involved in crimes such as issuing threats to families of hostages for ransom through mobile phones,” said a senior jail official wishing not to be named.

In June 2013, a heavy contingent of Rangers carried out a search operation inside the central jail after finding leads during investigation into the bomb attack on Justice Maqbool Baqar of the Sindh High Court and seized six cellphones.

“Apart from the Rangers raid, we ourselves have recovered more than 500 cellphones during searches this year alone only in Karachi prison,” said the jail official.