LAHORE, July 8: The Punjab government on Saturday asked all district and sessions judges to depute judicial officers for immediately collecting information of all jailed women who could be released according to the ordinance promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf for the purpose.

Sources in the Punjab government informed Dawn that although no official direction had so far been received from the federal government regarding the implementation of the ordinance, the province had started making arrangements for the release of all eligible women prisoners in its jails.

They said that D&SJs had been asked to depute one judicial magistrate or civil judge each for figuring out the number of all eligible women prisoners in league with jail superintendents concerned.

Magistrates or civil judges were supposed to give the feedback by Monday following which the eligible women would be granted bail on personal bonds to facilitate their immediate release.

Out of 32 jails in Punjab, they said, women were imprisoned in around 20 of them. These jails were situated in cities like Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Sahiwal and Rawalpindi.

They expected the release of women from Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail by Saturday evening.

Jails Minister Saeed Akhtar Nivani said the government would start releasing all eligible women prisoners from Monday.

Official sources said women involved in crime having less than 10-year imprisonment would be eligible for availing the facility granted under the ordinance.

Those involved in heinous crime like murder, terrorism, gunrunning or narcotics smuggling would not be given the facility.

The president had on Friday promulgated the ordinance to facilitate release of women detained on various charges, including violation of Hudood Laws. —Intikhab Hanif