AMRAIZ KHAN
LAHORE Punjab Government has decided to release 3500 prisoners from all jails of Punjab to prevent prisoners from the outbreak of deadly coronavirus. Other provinces are not behind Punjab; Sindh Government has already released thousands of prisoners and making policy to release all those prisoners, who have completed one third of imprisonment with good character on parole under Probation of Offenders Ordinance, (POO) 1960. On the top of all the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah has bailed out all under trial prisoners of Islamabad on personal sureties and out of 1300 prisoners of Islamabad about 1000 prisoners are released on bail by Justice Minallah. It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan Observer had already published this proposal wherein Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association wrote letters to President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan, all Chief Justices of High Courts, all Chief Ministers, all Chief Secretaries and all Home Secretaries to release prisoners on parole under POO, 1960 and release prisoners on bails to prevent and mitigate deadly coronavirus in Jails. Wherein, jails are 400-500% over crowed. PYPA also wrote in the letter that Government must use all prisoners on parole to prevent, mitigate coronavirus and these prisoners must be used in hospitals, quarantines, medicine supply, food supply and cleaning processes of hospitals and isolation wards. All the doctors, nurses, paramedics and educated prisoners, who would give affidavits with surety bonds that they will work directly in isolation wards of coronavirus, may be released on parole, to use them for the preferment of nation and attenuation of COVID-19. Justice Athar Minallah used his judicial wisdom and released around 1000 under trial prisoners from Adyala Jail out of 1300 prisoners of Islamabad. Murad Ali Shah Chief Minister has remained very active and fighting coronavirus at forefronts himself, he has not only devised policies to prevent and mitigate COVID19 but he has very actively implemented and executed all the policies very successfully all alone. PYPA has also announced an award to Murad Ali Shah. Talking to president of PYPA Dr. Haroon Yousaf, he said that we are writing and we are hopeful that other provinces will play very active role like Sindh Government did. He further requested Chief Justice of Pakistan and all Chief Justices of High Courts that bring law in motion and decrease prisoners in jails to prevent prisoners from COVID-19 as positive case came in Lahore Jail.
