HYDERABAD, Nov 5: The demand for a new jail manual was made during a seminar as speakers termed the existing one lacking in addressing jail conditions where under trial prisoners pass their lives in subhuman conditions and without being presented before courts, regularly.

The Sindh Hari Porhiyat Council organised the one-day seminar titled “Sindh’s jails – reformatories and chamber of torture,” on Wednesday.

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Jail Affairs Gul Mohammad Jakhrani said that incidents of violence were mostly due to over-crowding in prisons and called for improving it to convert these into reformatories.

Agreeing with speakers he called for re-drafting the present jail manual as it was of the British era. Fundamental rights of prisoners guarantee due facilities, he said with a warning that violence and staging mutiny to break jail would not be allowed.

He admitted that non-production of detainees before courts was another reason for violence and that it was government’s responsibility to provide security in jails. He further said that 17 jail officers had been suspended on the complaint of prisoners.

Seminars would be arranged with stakeholders from all provinces to seek their proposals for bringing about improvement in jail conditions which then will be tabled in the assembly for legislation, he said.

He denied the torture of prisoners during the present regime as they were being provided maximum facilities.

He expressed disappointment over deaths during Malir jail incident while talking with journalists and said that had police not taken action some 2,500 hardened criminals would have fled.

“The purpose of my visit to prisons is to collect first-hand knowledge on problems inmates face,” he said adding: “Altaf Unnar is facing an attempted murder case which the court would decide.”

Speakers shared their experiences of life in jail. Two former missing activists Fayyaz Janwari and Nawaz Khan Zaunr of JSMM said that influential prisoners availed facilities while commoners were treated differently. Janwari alleged misappropriation of NGOs’ funds by jail administration. He told the gathering that Rehman Marri was given facilities for monetary consideration which led to sense of deprivation among others. Regarding prevalence of illness, he said that 800 prisoners were suffering from hepatitis.

He said that JSMM’s sick activists were not being provided medical treatment in jail and lashed at the free access to intelligence officials for interrogating activists without court permission.

He saw no change in prison conditions after the appointment of Jakhrani as adviser and called for formation of a committee to redraft or propose amendments in existing jail manuals.

Those who spoke included Jakhrani, former missing activists of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz Fayyaz Janwari and Nawaz Khan Zaunr, Mehboob Abro, Photo Rustamani and Nazeer Memon.