KARACHI, Oct 22: Sindh Minister for Prisons Manzoor Hussain Wassan said on Tuesday that the District Prison Sukkur (DPS) would be reserved for women and juvenile inmates.

“We have decided to reserve the DPS only for female and juvenile prisoners as no such place was available for them in the region,” said Mr Wassan while talking to reporters at his office.

He said the decision aimed at providing better environment to women prisoners and young offenders with the prime objective to help them excel in education and vocational skills.

He said there were a few wards available for women and juvenile prisoners in Sukkur division and it was need of the hour to provide them an exclusive place where they could make out in their future life.

Mr Wassan dismissed reports suggesting that the prime land of the DPS was being given away to builders’ mafia.

He said his department had decided to recruit an exclusive security force, initially some 500 personnel, who would be given commando training to safeguard the provincial prisons.

“At present we have 219 jihadi prisoners in our prisons and we can’t dismiss the dangers facing the security of prisons,” he said.

He said that in addition to the jail security apparatus; paramilitaries – Rangers and Frontier Constabulary – were also there to protect 25 jails in the province where 18,000 prisoners had been kept.

The minister said that the jails were overcrowded in Sindh where 7,000 additional prisoners had been accommodated.