Almost every three minutes, 52-year-old Hajra Bibi knocks on the main gate of Timergara’s district jail, situated on the main road along the Panjkora River in the Lower Dir district of Malakand Division. The clock has just struck three in the afternoon and Hajra has just reached Timergara after a 80-kilometre long journey from Tehsil Kabal, District Swat. Locked up inside is her 28-year-old son, Jamal Khan* — apprehended and tried in Swat. Hajra makes this tiring trip all the way from Swat to meet Jamal once every month, but sometimes, she must make the journey back without being able to see him. Today is one such day.

“I have been requesting the sentry to allow me inside, but he is refusing since inmates’ family members can only meet them until 1pm,” says a distraught Hajra. “My son Jamal was a labourer. Security forces arrested him during the Swat operation back in 2009, on charges of having some alleged links with the Taliban. It is difficult for me to hire a good lawyer to secure his release because I don’t have the money to do so.”

Unlike Hajra Bibi, 55-year-old Nazir Khan, a resident of Matta area in District Swat, walks out of the prison a tad more content. He was successful in meeting with his 24-year-old daughter, Shabnam Bibi, who is on trial for allegedly murdering her husband four years ago. “I met my daughter after 20 days; I woke up early morning to reach Timergara, because the management is very strict about their 1pm deadline,” he says.

Swat lost its district prison to the 2005 earthquake, forcing common criminals to share space and facilities with hardened militants in Timergara and Buner

Both Jamal and Shabnam were booked back in Swat, their hearings too are held back in their district, but they are detained in Timergara’s district jail since there is no prison left in District Swat after the 2005 earthquake. But the Timergara jail also serves another purpose: it is where the army sends the prisoners of the operation against militancy.

Per national security practices and protocols followed today, nabbed high-profile militants are first taken to army-run detention facilities, where investigations are held as is some re-education to undo what officials described as “militant brainwashing”. Prisoners are then either let go or shifted to the district prison in Timergara or to Dagar jail in Buner district of Malakand division. “Dozens of terrorists are present in the prisons of Timergara and Dagar who were captured by the security forces since the start of the militants’ activities in Swat in 2007,” admits Malik Qasim Khan Khattak, advisor to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on prisons.

Even today, the military continues to send prisoners to Timergara. If his mother’s belief is well-placed, Jamal might well be innocent but he is nevertheless imprisoned along with “dozens of terrorists” captured by the military since 2007.

War on ruins

Timergara’s district jail assumed greater significance after the earthquake in 2005: the prison in Saidu Sharif (district headquarters of Swat) became unusable as a detention centre after the quake, and prisoners from Swat were shifted to Timergara. “It is the largest and most secure facility that is currently operational,” says a jail official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Even today, the military continues to send prisoners to Timergara. If his mother’s belief is well-placed, Jamal might well be innocent but he is nevertheless imprisoned along with “dozens of terrorists” captured by the military since 2007.

In a sad twist of fate, the Saidu Sharif prison was in fact renovated and its capacity increased from 200 prisoners to 700 back in 2005. “The jail was constructed in 1950, during the era of the first wali of Swat, Miangul Golshahzada Abdul-Wadud Badshah Sahib. In 1971, its capacity was 200 given the population at the time; its expansion was completed as recently as 2005 but it was also ruined the same year,” recounts Munir.

Nine years on, as conflict rages on in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Saidu Sharif jail still remains in a state of disrepair.

“The Communication and Works (C&W) Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared the Saidu Sharif prison inoperable after the earthquake,” explains Akhter Munir, the superintendent of Saidu Sharif Jail. “The provincial Awami National Party (ANP) government then directed the authorities concerned to completely vacate the prison and move the prisoners to Timergara so that repairs could be arranged in Saidu Sharif. Funds for the reconstruction of jail were allocated in 2007.”

Before the renovation plans could materialise, the army moved in on Swat to clear the area of militants.

“Security forces took over the Saidu Sharif prison for the operations, and many of their personnel resided inside jail premises. The prison therefore became a target of many attacks, as militants would target any and all buildings they thought were being used by the security forces,” narrates Munir.

With the entire jails’ burden now transferred to Timergara and Dagar, much overcrowding began to take place in the two operational prisons. Mian Mohammad Anwar Khan, the superintendent of Timergara jail, says that the prison’s capacity is 240 but the number of prisoners totals around 550, including 22 females.

“The prisoners mostly belong to Swat district; it is difficult for the police to provide basic facilities to everyone in jail due to the lack of resources and the additional burden of the prisoners,” claims Mian Mohammad Anwar.

Likewise in Buner, the jail’s capacity is around 250 but around 300 prisoners are locked up. “Most of our prisoners belong to the Swat and Shangla districts of Malakand Division. But it is now very difficult for the jail administration to manage local Buner prisoners due to the shortage of space in our jail,” contends Murad Khan, the deputy superintendent of Dagar Jail.

Transporting trouble

“Court hearings are all held in Swat because the courts are located in Mingora, the divisional headquarters of Malakand Division,” complains Nazir, based on his troubles of reaching Timergara. “It is challenging for me to travel due to my old age while it is also difficult for me to spend almost Rs500 to 1,000 for each visit to my daughter’s prison.”

“Security forces took over the Saidu Sharif prison for the operations, and many of their personnel resided inside jail premises. The prison therefore became a target of many attacks, as militants would target any and all buildings they thought were being used by the security forces.

But as the district police officer (DPO) of Swat, Sher Akbar Khan, explains, the torment is not of common citizens alone. “The sufferings of the police department have also increased because it very challenging for the police to move prison vans on a daily basis from one district to another district for the hearing of cases,” he argues.

At least six prison buses, along with additional police vans for prisoners’ protection, are employed every time prisoners have to be shifted from the jail to the courts. “There is always a threat for the police authorities; any terrorist group can attack the buses to secure the release of their associates,” explains DPO Sher Akbar. “This happens especially during the winters, when the days are short, and it becomes a challenge for the police to return the prisoners to their jails before sunset.”

Much expense is therefore incurred on shifting prisoners to and fro. “I don’t have an exact idea but the police department is spending around one million per month for the transportation of the prisoners while the police are also providing separate transport to women prisoners,” says the DPO.

“It is unfortunate that the expenses of the police department have increased due to increased fuel costs, maintenance of buses being used, and the added human resource to protect police vans from any attacks by terrorist groups active in FATA,” Sher Akbar laments.

Tardy is marked absent

Despite the expense incurred on transporting prisoners from one district to another, it isn’t always the case that they would have a hearing before a judge. If they are tardy in reaching the courts, hearings are often cancelled.

“It is very common in courts that judges cancel the hearing of the cases due to the unavailability of the prisoners in the court on time. The police are often delayed due to the long distances they have to travel from Lower Dir and Buner,” explains Mohammad Zahir Khan, president of the district bar association in Swat.

“How can it be possible to continue proceedings of a trial regularly if a prisoner is not present in court by 3pm?” he asks rhetorically. “Sometimes, prisoners reach after court hours, at other times it is necessary to get the signatures of the superintendent on a bail application to guarantee bail of any accused in criminal cases. It is difficult for lawyers to use extra time and additional money to visit jails in other districts to meet with their clients and discuss their cases.”

Zahir says that the bar association also staged a protest against the lack of jail facilities in Swat, while lawyers’ representatives also requested local parliamentarians to allocate funds for the reconstruction of the jail, but there has been no progress as yet.

Double sentence

Thirty-five-year-old Zeenat Bibi*, a resident of Saidu Sharif, waits for her bus to Buner at the Mingora bus stop along with her 12-year-old son. She is going to visit her husband, who is behind bars in the Dagar prison since April 2012 on charges of corruption.

“It is impossible for me to visit the jail alone to meet my husband due to our family norms; my husband told me to visit the jail only with my son, who studies in class 6 in a local government school in Saidu Sharif,” explains Zeenat said.

“I know that I will return from Buner by evening and not earlier, because the buses take almost six to seven hours from Swat to Buner and then back from Buner to Swat because of the damaged highway. I told my son to take leave from school, as it was the only option for him to go with me to meet his father,” she adds.

In Mingora city in district Swat, 42-year-old Ahmed Khan* is also preparing to reach the Dagar jail to meet with his younger brother, incarcerated for the past year due to charges of murdering a relative over a land dispute. He complains that each leg of the 90-kilometre journey costs Rs360, and the bus takes almost six hours from Swat to Buner and then back to Swat.

“My mother wants to meet my brother in jail but it is difficult for her to travel in a local bus because she is a heart patient and has blood pressure issues due to her age,” says Ahmed. “Although, my mother did meet my younger brother a few times during the hearing of his case in Swat, it will be easier for inmates’ families to meet them if the government takes some steps to reconstruct the jail in Swat.”

Then there is the family of 55-year-old Ziarat Gul*, a resident of Swat who is imprisoned in Dagar. He meets his family usually in court premises, since it is very difficult for his whole family to travel all the way to Buner. “My brother likes to meet with me in jail, but sometimes, he has to stay the night in Buner due to the long journey back to Swat,” says Gul.

The incumbent provincial government is not interested in taking immediate measures to rehabilitate the existing jail, claims an official of the KP C&W Department, speaking on condition of anonymity. He maintains that the government has instead decided to construct a central jail in Swat.

When contacted, Malik Qasim Khan Khattak, advisor to the KP chief minister on prisons, and Salim Rehman, the local member of the National Assembly from Swat, told Dawn that the KP government is aware of the sufferings of prisoners, their families, police personnel and even lawyers.

“The provincial government has allocated funds in the budget for the construction of a jail in Swat but it is difficult for me to tell you the exact amount allocated,” says Khattak said. This was echoed by Rehman, who adds that it is necessary to construct a jail in Swat so as to counter any possible terrorist attacks.

Meanwhile, Hajra Bibi returns home from Timergara with only the hope that one day, her son will be released from jail. She wants to fulfil her dream of fixing his marriage and seeing him wed in the near future.

*Names changed to protect privacy and anonymity

Irfan Haider is a Dawn.com correspondent in Islamabad.

Connect on Twitter at @IrfanHaiderr or email him at mihader321@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 21st, 2014