MINGORA: The Saidu Sharif Prison has been awaiting reconstruction for last 10 years.

The jail was pulled down by the district government after it developed cracks in the 2005 earthquake.

Since then, the prisoners from the district have been sent to Timergara and Buner jails for locking up.

The Saidu Sharif Prison was built in 1957 during the rule of Miangual Jahanzeb, the last ruler of the princely state of Swat.

“Though the condition of the jail was not that much bad in the wake of the 2005 earthquake, the communication and works department declared it inoperable. The premises was vacated and demolished soon thereafter, while the prisoners were shifted either to Timergara or Buner prisons,” local resident Khalid Mehmood said, adding that funds for the jail’s reconstruction were approved in 2007.

The prison was used by both the criminals and undertrials from Swat and Shangla districts.

The unavailability of the prison in Swat has created problems not only for prisoners and their families but for the police and district courts as well.

“We have spared two vans to carry prisoners from Timergara and Buner jails to that of Swat for hearing into their respective cases in district courts. Transporting prisoners in large numbers to courts from jail and back not only consumes lots of time and money but it is extremely risky as well. Daily transportation of prisoners from one district to another is a real burden over the government and police department,” acting Swat DSP Akbar Ali told Dawn.

Relatives of prisoners also complained they were stressed out by long journey to Lower Dir or Buner.

“I have to travel from Bahrain to Mingora and then from Mingora to Timergara to meet my son languishing in the jail. It is really a challenging task in light of my old age,” Zaitoon said.

She said she was a poor woman so she had to borrow money to go to Timergara prison.

Other people criticised the government for lack of interest in the reconstruction of Saidu Sharif prison.

Iqbal Zada, a resident of Saidu Sharif, said Swat was the division’s headquarters from where prisoners were sent to districts and therefore, there should be at least one prison there.

The people of Swat and Shangla demanded the immediate reconstruction of the Saidu Sharif jail.

They insisted the chief minister had promised a delegation of Swat during a meeting lately that work on the Saidu Sharif Jail would begin soon, but the promise had yet to be fulfilled.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2016