PAKISTAN has 116 prisons, including those in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with an official capacity to house 66,625 inmates. However, these facilities currently have 108,643 prisoners — far exceeding the capacity and leading to severe over-crowding.

A significant factor contributing to this situation is the delay in the judicial process. In many cases, prisoners remain in custody for extended periods while awaiting trial or sentencing. This not only places a financial burden on the gover-nment, but also leads to a loss of human potential, as many of these individuals happen to be the primary breadwinners for their families.

There is an urgent need to reform the justice system to ensure timely and efficient adjudication. By streamlining legal procedures and expediting court proceedings, many cases could be resolved within days, eliminating the need for prolonged imprisonment.

In such cases, temporary detention in police lockups could suffice, reducing the burden on the prison system.

Adopting a justice model aligned with Islamic principles — where timely, on-the-spot punishments are delivered — can further reduce the reliance on long-term imprisonment. This approach not only aligns with moral and religious values, but also offers practical benefits, including significant savings for the government, and the preservation of valuable human resources.

Thousands of individuals have spent large portions of their lives behind bars — sometimes without any justified cause. Modernising and aligning the justice system with efficient and Islamic principles will reduce injustice, minimise the need for prisons, correctional staff as well as associated expenditure, potentially saving billions of rupees annually. Doing this, we will be able to reintegrate our productive people into society a lot more quickly.

Muhammad Abdus Samad
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2025