ISLAMABAD: Over 25 per cent of inmates in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail and Lahore’s District Jail are drug addicts, a report by National Commis­sion of Human Rights (NCHR) has revealed.

The report has pointed out that 2,309 out of 9,038 inmates in the two prisons were addicts.

The inspection by the commission revealed that out of 3,800 inmates in the District Jail, around 900 were drug addicts, while the number in Adiala Jail stood at around 1,404.

The commission, in its report submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) earlier this week, also identified at least eight types of torture that are practised inside the prison.Inmates in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail are subjected to slapping, whipping, solitary confinement and other forms of torture, it added. Based on interviews with at least 35 prisoners, the NCHR stated that every new inmate was subjected to mandatory mulahiza (inspection), an interview with the prison superintendent. The superintendent asked the question and with every answer the inmate was slapped “to subdue their ego” and show who was in in charge.

NCHR identifies eight forms of torture on prisoners

The report added that prisoners were also whipped with leather straps while some were taken to a jail within the jail called aik (one) where they are kept in solitary confinement against the rules.

Other modes of torture, as per the report, were strappado were a man is left hanging by his arms which could result in shoulder dislocation; jahaz banana (make into an aeroplane) in which the prisoner’s arms and legs were held by four people holding a limb while two others flog them using a whip made out of tire.

Another form of torture was kawwa banana (make into a crow) where a person squats, benching forward, with a rod passing through behind the knees. The victims were kept in the posture for hours, affecting their blood circulation.

The torture was not only inflicted by the administration, the nigrans (inmates who were given supervisory role by the administration) also use various forms of torture on their fellow inmates, the report said.

The commission also added that those culpable for inflicting the torture never face any persecution.

“[The] cases of death and allegations of torture and sexual abuse by prisoners and prison staff who have not been subjected to effective investigation,” the report added.

The report also highlighted the discrepancy in the living conditions of the inmates saying that financially well-off inmates can pay for more facilities and a better life within the premises.Highlighting the state of juveniles, the report said 82 such inmates were housed in the Adiala Jail. However, they were housed in barracks instead of juvenile rehabilitation centres as per Section 20 of the Juvenile Law.

The prison has the capacity to house 2,174 inmates while currently, 6,098 prisoners were being held there.

The NCHR said: “The situation of prisoners [in Adiala Jail] is abysmal – torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, daily extortion of money, coupled with lack of food, proper sanitation and housing makes the entire facility one of human degradation. Staff remain unsanitised and deeply entrenched in a mafia-like system. There is little or no accountability.”

The IHC has also ordered the NCHR to publish this ‘otherwise confidential’ report to bring the inhuman treatment of prisoners to the light. The commission was asked to furnish the report during hearing of identical petitions of human rights violation inside the prison.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2022