PESHAWAR: A local judge on Friday ordered the police to shift a Sri Lankan national from the city prison to the central jail of Rawalpindi for deportation to his country.

Mohammad Nizam has been kept at the Peshawar Central Prison despite completion of jail term four months ago for illegal stay in the country.

District and sessions judge Anwar Ali Khan issued the orders for the foreigner’s shifting to the capital city police officer during a visit to the prison.

He was accompanied by judicial magistrate Nasrullah Khan and public prosecutor Qaisar Khan.

During the visit, the judge and magistrate also disposed of cases of 31 prisoners facing cases of petty nature.

The jail authorities informed the judge in writing that Mohammad Nizam was arrested in Hasthnagri area of Peshawar by the police on July 27, 2014 for illegal stay in the country.

Foreigner to be sent home as he’s served jail term for illegal stay

They said the police claimed that the prisoner didn’t possess proper travel documents and was charged under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

The authorities said the foreigner was produced before a magistrate, who sentenced him to three days of imprisonment with a fine of Rs700 and asked the relevant authorities to deport him to own country thereafter.

According to official sources, the judge asked the prisons authorities why the prisoner had not been deported despite clear orders of the court.

Jail superintendent Masoodur Rehman said under the present procedure, foreign prisoners except Afghan nationals had been shifted to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for deportation to their respective countries.

He said the prison had taken up the matter with the provincial home department which contacted the interior ministry and sought the prisoner’s deportation.

The jail superintendent said normally, the police took foreign prisoners to Rawalpindi but the local police had yet to act in the Sri Lankan national’s case for unknown reasons.

An official said after the visit, the district judge had sent a letter to the CCPO directing him to make arrangements for the shifting of the prisoner to Rawalpindi so that he could be deported to Sri Lanka.

During the visit, the judge also went to juveniles barrack and prison hospital.

The prison authorities informed him that while other specialist doctors had been visiting the hospital regularly, the cardiologist had not been turning up for many weeks to the misery of prisoners, who were taken to a government hospital for checkup and examination.

The judge observed that he would take up the matter with the provincial health secretary and that the minutes of the visit would also be sent to him so that arrangements should be made for the visit of cardiologist on regular basis.

The jail superintendent complained that under the rules, a prisoner had to be shifted to his home district after his conviction but the jail had several prisoners, who had not been shifted to their respective districts by the police.

One of such prisoners is from Haripur, whereas several others are from Bannu district. The judge observed that the court would issue directives to the police bosses for making arrangements to shift prisoners to Adiala Jail.

Published in Dawn, November 29th , 2014