HARIPUR: The prisons department has launched different vocational training programmes for prisoners to enable them to earn a respectable living.

This was stated by Umair Khan, superintendent of central prison, Haripur, while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the first batch of beads craft training here on Tuesday.

Jail’s deputy superintendent Syed Akhtar Shah, assistant superintendent Muqadas Khan Jadoon and in-charge jail industry Waqas Ali Khan were also in attendance.

Human Development Organisation (HDO) under its livelihood and mental health development initiative launched the beads craft training in Haripur, Mansehra and Battagram prisons in May. Sixty prisoners have completed their three-month training course.

Mr Umair said beads craft and its articles was the choicest vocation that the prisoners always preferred to learn for better income. “This vocational training would enable the inmates to earn better living both during and the post-detention period to support their families,” he said, adding he had also put the jail industry on track of sustainable income generation to facilitate prisoners making positive use of their detention period.

The jail superintendent said launch of woodwork industry, fish farming and Peshawari Chapal making was also part of the programme.

Sharing the progress of Haripur jail industry, he told the audience that he had recently won an order of Rs3.5 million for manufacturing school furniture.

Mohammad Ahsan Khan, director programme HDO, briefed the participants about the beads craft training initiative, and said poverty was the principal culprit that always contributed towards mental health complications, criminal tendencies and torture. He said during the phase three of the training programme, a total of 120 prisoners would be trained, who would then train another 360 inmates.

“The HDO would link these artisans with the local and national markets and facilitate them in securing funding from different credit lending organisations and banks for their post-detention startups,” said Mr Ahsan.

He also shared the programme’s background and its impact on the mental health and future economic conditions of inmates, and urged the trainees to pass on their skills generously to fellow prisoners by maximising the benefits of the vocational training.

Later, the jail superintendent distributed course completion certificates among the prisoners.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2024