GUJRANWALA, Jan 7: At least 32 new blocks for prisoners are under-construction at the Central Jail with an expenditure of Rs29 million which will soon be completed.

Jail superintendent Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig said here on Wednesday that the new blocks would be greatly helpful in easing the crowd of inmates. He pointed out that the Central Jail was already over-crowded where about 3,330 inmates were detained as against the capacity of 1,000.

In all, he said, there were 87 blocks at the Central Jail which were quite insufficient for the inmates. He said that number of condemned prisoners was 546 while 55 women involved in various criminal cases had been detained in the women block.

He revealed that around 60 captives would be detained in each block when these were handed over to the jail authority after completion. He claimed that all facilities were being provided to prisoners in accordance with jail manual while two medical officers were inducted to jail hospital for the treatment of captives. He said that the security inside and outside the jail had been beefed up by the administration.

LAUDED: The local chamber of commerce and industry lauded the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) among Saarc countries in Islamabad. Speaking at a meeting held here on Wednesday presided over by chamber president Shauket Javed, the participants said that free trade among the Saarc countries would be helpful in eliminating poverty in the region.

They expressed the hope that the new era of economic progress and prosperity would start after the introduction of free trade in the region. GCCI's senior vice-president Sheikh Muhammad Ali, vice-president Asad Elahi and other industrialists and traders welcomed a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and the Indian prime minister. They expressed the hope that all longstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute, would be resolved through a dialogue between the two countries.