RAWALPINDI, July 8: Twenty prisoners, including two foreigners and a woman, died in Adiala jail in the last one year raising concerns about the condition of the prisoners, statistics showed.

Ulfat Kazmi, the executive director of the International Human Rights Monitor (IHRM), an NGO working on jail issues, said these deaths resulted due to poor living conditions in the prison, poor quality of food for the inmates, insufficient medical care and inhuman attitude of the jail staff. Six prisoners committed suicide during this period.

The IHRM director claimed that these prisoners committed suicide as they had become disheartened by the deplorable situation in the jail. He warned that there could be more deaths if the situation did not improve.

Sources, while mentioning the improper health care facilities in the jail, said there was one doctor for the 4,738 prisoners. According to WHO, there should be one doctor for 1,000 people. However, in Pakistan, the doctor to population ratio is 1:1,529.

Similarly, the sources said, there was not any nursing care available in the jail hospital. There are only two prisoners performing the duty of dispensers, whose role is allegedly questionable and seldom perform the duty for which they have been attached with the jail hospital.

Diseases, it has been learnt, are common in the jail due to unhygienic conditions. The bed occupancy rate of the jail hospital is almost 100 per cent and the remaining patients, sources say, are made to remain in their barracks. Medicines remain in short supply most of the time.

It has been further learnt that though the jail has an ambulance, guards are not provided in time to shift prisoners to the hospital in case of emergency.

According to the details, given by Mr Kazmi, about those who died in the last one year, Mohammad Akhtar committed suicide on June 6, 2001 since he was not being properly treated for his illness.

He said another prisoner, Mansha suffered a heart attack on June 31, 2001, and instead of providing treatment to him, sent him to the kitchen to work there. Dejected by the situation, Mr Kazmi said, the prisoner committed suicide.

The IHRM director said Mohammad Saeed died on July 22, 2001 due to non-availability of proper treatment. A prisoner, Mirza Bashir, he alleged, suffered paralysis on September 26, 2001 and instead of being retained in the hospital for treatment was shifted to the jail where he died the same night. An Iraqi prisoner, Mehmood, died because of inadequate medication on October 17, 2001. A blasphemy accused, Painda Khan committed suicide on October 24, 2001.

Mr Kazmi said he committed suicide because he had been kept in the mad prisoners ward. “The jail conditions forced him to take his own life,” he said.

The jail authorities, he said, took Ghaur to the court on January 15, 2002 while he was quite sick.

His sickness aggravated after being exposed to the cold weather and died soon on returning to the jail, the human rights activist alleged.

Akhtar Hussain mysteriously died on January 27, 2002. An Iranian prisoner, Taqi died in jail on January 25, 2002 due to inadequate medical treatment, Mr Kazmi said, and added that Atta Mohammad committed suicide on January 29, 2002 after being tortured by the jail authorities.

In February this year a woman prisoner, Shaheen Bibi, who hailed from Murree, died after she was not provided medicines for seven days, the IHRM director said. She was suffering from Tuberculosis.

A prisoner, Yaqoob, was referred to the hospital at a stage when he was not likely to survive and he died on March 25, 2002, he said.

Suffiyan died because of malnutrition and lack of treatment on March 28, 2002. A prisoner, Ghulam Habib suffered a fatal heart attack in April 2002. Mr Kazmi claimed that his death resulted due to absence of resuscitation equipment in the jail hospital.

On April 19, 2002, Aslam hid himself inside a water tank to escape torture by the jail authorities, where he died of suffocation, he said. Amir Mohammad died on May 8, 2002 as he was not provided adequate medical treatment which resulted in his death, he said.

Mohammad Safdar, who died on June 19, 2002, was referred to the hospital very late, and doctors could not resuscitate him, Mr Kazmi said. Fazalul Malik, died on June 30, 2002. He said the prisoner had been sick for the past four months and died after reaching the hospital.

Rashid committed suicide on July 1, 2002 because of the attitude of the jail authorities, he said and added Malik Sarfraz died on July 5, 2002 after protracted illness because of improper medical treatment.