Senate human rights body calls for urgent reforms in prison system

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Thursday voiced concerns about the dire conditions in prisons, particularly crowding and prolonged delays in justice for death row inmates.

A meeting of the committee, chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, was held at Parliament House to address the deteriorating prison conditions and human rights violations affecting thousands of incarcerated individuals.

The committee was briefed by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) about the prison system and the enforcement of laws aimed at preventing torture. Discussions centered on critical issues such as the excessive pre-trial detention of prisoners, inadequate facilities for vulnerable groups and the systemic neglect of under-trial women and juveniles.

Expressing her frustration, Ms Zehri said while statistics were presented they failed to capture the true extent of the suffering endured by prisoners.

Committee proposes conducting surprise inspections of prisons across country

“Numbers alone do not reflect the human cost of these conditions. People who have not even been convicted face inhumane treatment with little hope for justice,” she stated.

Senator Irfan Siddiqui highlighted the excessive delays in Pakistan’s judicial process, pointing out that it takes an average of five years for a death penalty case to be finalised. He criticised the system for subjecting inmates to harsh conditions, stating, “Even after years of waiting, prisoners are forced to live in jails that serve more as punishment than rehabilitation centres.”

Unannounced jail visits to expose reality

To assess the situation firsthand, the committee proposed conducting surprise inspections of prisons across the country. Senator Zehri recounted her own experiences visiting jails, noting that in some facilities prisoners did not even have space to sleep. She condemned the mistreatment of inmates by junior prison officers, stating, “The real torture is not just physical, it is the systematic mental anguish inflicted on prisoners daily.”

The committee also resolved to draft recommendations for improving prison conditions and ensuring better coordination among various departments, including the police, FIA and ministries overseeing human rights and law enforcement.

Senator Zehri urged officials to take their responsibilities seriously, reminding them that while government employees received regular salary hikes, ordinary citizens, including prisoners, struggled to survive in harsh conditions.

The committee was informed that there were currently 3, 646 death row inmates in Pakistan’s jails. Punjab alone has 2, 212 death row appeals pending in Lahore High Court with an additional 276 cases awaiting Supreme Court’s review. The backlog of cases and slow legal proceedings resulted in prolonged uncertainty for those awaiting justice.

Overcrowding remained a major issue with prisons in Punjab operating at 73 per cent overcapacity, Sindh at 74pc and Balochistan facing 15pc overcrowding.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s prison system remained critically strained. The committee also noted that the criminalisation of begging had further burdened the system as law enforcement agencies continued to detain impoverished individuals without addressing the root causes of poverty.

Senator Zehri called for immediate legislative action to improve prison conditions. She urged the government to allocate sufficient funds for prison reforms under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), stressing that investment in better facilities would ultimately benefit the entire justice system.

The committee also criticised the lack of accountability in cases of custodial torture with FIA representatives acknowledging that their authority did not extend to prison oversight.

“This is a failure of the system,” the chairperson stated, demanding urgent reforms to ensure that all detainees are treated with dignity and fairness.

Published in media, February 28th, 2025