KARACHI: Four months after the escape of two prisoners belonging to the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the security situation at the Karachi Central Prison is still unsatisfactory as there is not only a shortage of guards but also equipment, it emerged on Saturday.

On June 13, the two LJ militants — Shaikh Mohammad Mumtaz alias Firaun alias Sher Khan and Mohammad Ahmed Khan alias Munna — escaped from the premises of the central prison. The then jail superintendent, Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh, and around 15 other officials were booked for their alleged negligence.

A senior judicial officer held the provincial government responsible for the miserable situation in the prison, which also lacked proper arrangements for providing cold drinking water to over 5,000 inmates.

Over 5,000 inmates have no supply of clean drinking water

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Malir) Shafi Mohammad Pirzada paid a visit to the prison on Friday to inspect the overall arrangements there.

In his report, he expressed dissatisfaction over the existing security arrangements and stated that there was a severe shortage of security staff and the provincial government failed to make efforts to provide equipment.

A shortage of police escort and prison vans resulted in non-production of undertrial prisoners, but jail authorities remained unable to address this issue, the report adds.

The judge observed that the prison was overcrowded since its sanctioned capacity was 2,400; however 5,135 inmates were currently kept at the British-era detention facility.

He added that there was no arrangement of potable water for prisoners.

Holding the provincial authorities responsible, the sessions judge deplored the condition of the jail hospital and said that the post of the chief medical officer had been lying vacant since December 2016 and only two medical officers were looking after the health facility located on the premises of the prison.

The judge said there were only three posts of doctors since the “British Raj” and the posts must be increased to meet the requirements of the inmates.

The report says that the hospital was being run without a neurosurgeon and a pathological laboratory. The judge recommended that the medical facility be upgraded to make it at least a 50-bed hospital with the facility of an operation theatre.

The sessions judge further suggested that a cardiologist, dental surgeon and psychiatric should visit the jail hospital twice a week and a neurosurgeon once a week to attend to the ailing inmates.

There were complaints that inmates who were sent to the Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment were being returned unattended due to non-payment.

The inmates also complained that doctors at other government-run hospitals did not examine them properly, the judge says in the report.

He directed the health secretary to ask medical officers concerned to provide proper treatment to prisoners.

He also recommended construction of double-storey barracks to cater to the current population of prisoners, administration block and a heatstroke ward.

The judge also recommended an adequate supply of drinking water to inmates.

He proposed action against prison officials responsible for its administration for failing to properly follow some provisions of the Jail Manual.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2017