PESHAWAR
Families of missing persons from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who were recently recovered under the orders of the Peshawar High Court, have raised concerns over their transfer to jails in Punjab.
Addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club (PPC), the families, along with human rights advocates, called the move unjust and requested that their loved ones be transferred back to KP.
The families claimed that approximately 100 individuals from the province had been relocated to remote prisons in Punjab, making it increasingly difficult for relatives, especially elderly parents, to visit.
One emotional mother, struggling with various health issues and living in a rented house, shared how she borrows money from friends and relatives just to afford the long journey to Sahiwal to visit her son. Despite the effort, meeting her son there was often challenging due to logistical constraints.
They emphasized the financial and physical hardships they face, particularly given the poverty that many of the families live in.
The families have called on the Peshawar High Court to intervene and ensure the prisoners are transferred back to jails in KP, stressing that the move to Punjab is causing unnecessary hardship for both the prisoners and their families.
They also urged the provincial government to halt any future transfers of prisoners from the region to Punjab under the label of “dangerous prisoners,” which they believe to be an unfair categorization.
The families were demanding that the voices of the elderly be heard and that their loved ones be brought back to jails in KP for easier access and support.
