A conference organized by the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) ended with the four provincial governments backing the Islamabad Declaration and pledging to pursue coordinated reforms aimed at easing overcrowding, improving prison conditions and strengthening rehabilitation across the country. In his keynote address, Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi observed that prisons reflect the true pulse of the criminal justice system and emphasised that meaningful reform requires shared institutional responsibility and sustained leadership from the provinces. He welcomed the collective commitment of provincial governments to advancing the NJPMC’s National Prison Reform Action Plan through coordinated and practical reforms.
Pakistan’s prisons are severely overcrowded and operate at over 152% capacity, with some facilities, like Karachi Central Jail, exceeding 355% capacity. The system suffers from inadequate healthcare, unhygienic conditions, corruption and systemic delays. Notably, nearly 75% of the total prison population consists of under-trial prisoners awaiting court decisions. The magnitude of the challenge was highlighted by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who said her province operates one of the country’s largest prison systems, comprising 45 prisons housing more than 69,000 inmates against an authorised capacity of around 39,000. In this backdrop, the conference was a welcome initiative and commitment of the federation and provinces to implement the Islamabad Declaration augurs well for improvement of prison conditions and rehabilitation of its inmates. Under the declaration, all Chief Ministers committed to reducing unnecessary incarceration, particularly of under trial prisoners, by strengthening access to bail, legal aid, probation, parole, diversion and other non-custodial alternatives, especially for women, children, persons with disabilities, persons with mental health conditions and those detained for minor, poverty-related or non-violent offences. They also pledged to improve prison conditions through increased investment in infrastructure, sanitation, nutrition, healthcare, mental health services, complaint redressal and safeguards against torture, ill-treatment and neglect. There was also an understanding on promoting rehabilitation and reintegration by expanding education, vocational training, psychosocial support, drug treatment, skills development and post-release support for persons in custody. More importantly, the declaration takes due care of the implementation aspect as it calls for establishing provincial implementation mechanisms to develop time-bound reform plans, identify priority actions, allocate resources, collect data and monitor progress against agreed indicators. There was an appreciable understanding that prison reform is not merely an administrative necessity but a constitutional, humanitarian and public safety imperative. All this augurs well for improving prison conditions in the foreseeable future but much depends on the ability of the provincial governments to address rampant corruption in the system that scuttles efforts aimed at forms. Islamabad Capital Territory is poised to have its first prison facility and hopefully it will serve as a model prison for provinces to emulate in terms of facilities and correctional standards.
