Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial and Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah visited the Adiala Jail on Friday and review the prison conditions.
Both judges spent more than one and a half hours at the Central Jail Adiala in Rawalpindi. The senior judges arrived at the prison under tight security.
During the visit to Adiala Jail, the two judges reviewed the prison conditions and heard the problems faced by the prisoners.
They also inspected the conditions of the jail hospital and the quality of food served to prisoners. Many prisoners also complained to the judges about the jail conditions. The judges also visited women’s barracks and Barracks No. 1, 5 and 9 of juvenile prisoners and heard their problems.
The Chief Justice assured the prisoners that the Government of Pakistan will provide them to lawyers. He directed to solve the problems of prisoners sentenced in Adiala Jail soon.
Sessions Judge Tahir Mehmood of Islamabad, Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Captain (retired) Usman, Rawalpindi Sessions Judge Rawalpindi Mushtaq Ahmed, Senior Civil Judge Rana Mushahid, IG Jails Punjab Malik Mubasher, CCPO Nadeem Shahzad Bukhari, DIG Jail Saeedullah Gondal, AC Islamabad Sania Ahmed and others were also present.
In September last year, Justice Athar Minallah conducted a detailed visit of the Central Jail Adiala while he was serving as Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court.
The judge had received complaints of alleged human rights violations, torture, and bribery on jail premises. He was accompanied by two other district court judges during the three-hours long visit.
The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) had submitted a detailed report to the high court alleging torture and corruption taking place in Adiala Jail. The report said a 21-year-old inmate Shahab Hussain was tortured by jail authorities.
Justice Minallah had visited the barracks of dangerous inmates, women, and juvenile prisoners and listened to their problems. He also visited the kitchen, hospital, workshop, and other parts of the prison.
He had separate meetings with more than two dozen prisoners during which he gathered details about the injustices occurring inside the jail.
