Karachi's central jail overflows with record 7000 inmates

KARACHI: The inmate population at Karachi’s Central Jail has reached to a record 7,000, exceeding the jail capacity, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

As per details, the central jail’s capacity is only 2,400, with the District Jail Malir housing around 6,000 inmates, despite having a capacity of 2,200.

The report stated that over 24,000 prisoners are in Sindh jails, with 19,000 of whom are awaiting trial. Only around 4,500 prisoners have been convicted. Furthermore, 80% of the prisoners are under-trial.

The number of foreign prisoners has also increased, with 325 reported in Sindh’s jails, mostly jailed in the District Jail Malir.

It’s worth mentioning here that earlier Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi expressed displeasure over the overcrowding in jails of the country, saying that over 108,000 persons are incarcerated in the prisons originally designed for 66,625 inmates.

Also read: Undertrial prisoner escapes from Karachi’s Jinnah hospital

Chaired a meeting focused on improving prison conditions and the welfare of prisoners, the CJP while quoting the Law and Justice Commission said that 36,128 prisoners have been waiting for trial for over a year.

CJP Yahya Afridi said that Punjab province is the most affected by overcrowding in jails with 67,837 prisoners being held in facilities meant for 36,365. He was of the view that the large number of prisoners waiting for trial highlights the need for judicial reform.

The CJP stressed the importance of addressing the issues being faced by the prisoners. He also formed a committee and tasked it to submit recommendations for the jail reforms.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Justice Lahore High Court Justice Aaliya Neelum, Justice Shams Mahmoud Mirza, and representatives from the home and prosecution departments as well as police, and jail authorities.