LAHORE, Feb 22: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Wednesday took strong notice of overcrowded Punjab prisons and ordered the home secretary to appear in person with possible solutions to problems prisoners have to face in the jails of the province.

The IG further informed the court that around 3,659 prisoners were detained in Camp Jail against its capacity for only 1,050 inmates. Similarly, 3,500 prisoners were languishing in Kot Lakhpat Jail that could house only 1,000 inmates.

He stated there were 2,306 such prisoners in the jails of Punjab against whom the challans had not been submitted so far.

The CJP observed that poor prisoners faced hardships in jails while influential ones got themselves shifted to hospitals to avoid rigours of detention. "Both police and prosecution do not fulfill their responsibility despite getting handsome salaries. If challans of cases are submitted without delay, the numbers of prisoners in the jails can be reduced effectively," Justice Chaudhry remarked.

He lamented that the only thing which police wished was constant increase in their salaries and facilities against no work.

The court adjourned further hearing for Thursday (today). Punjab police IG Haji Habibur Rehman and other high officials were also present in the court.

These issued surfaced before the court during the hearing of bail petition of an accused, Ali Nawaz, who was in jail for eight months without challan being submitted against him.

The court had already dismissed the bail plea of Ali Nawaz and summoned officials concerned to find out solutions to other issues.