An important meeting on prison reform was jointly chaired by Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah and Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz at the Sindh Secretariat on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Federal Secretary Ombudsman Shoaib Siddiqui, Senior Advisor Anwar Haider, Law Secretary, IG Jail and other officials.
In the meeting, Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah said that reforms were being brought in all the jails of Sindh province. He further stated that the Department of Education, Health, Social Welfare, Stevta and Civil Society are working for the reforms.
“Oversight committees have also been formed under the prison reforms” he said. CS Sindh further stated that the Oversight committees include the judiciary, civil society, education and health experts and philanthropists.
During the meeting, the officials of the Sindh Prison & Correction Service Department informed that a Prison Information Management System (PIMS) has been installed in the jails of the province which will be formally launched on November 2 this year.
On this, Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah said that the prison information management system would improve the monitoring and administrative matters of the jails. Giving information in the meeting, the IG prison said that vaccination of prisoners of the province has been started and new inmates are being tested and vaccinated for the corona virus.
Informing the meeting, IG Jail said that more barracks are being set up in Thatta, Shaheed Benazirabad and Malir Jails and more new jails including in Karachi West for 800 inmates, 300 in Tharparkar, 200 in Qambar Shahdadkot and 300 in Kashmore at Kandhkot while Mirpur Khas District Prison had been upgraded to Central Jail.
Appreciating the prison reforms of the Sindh government, the Federal Ombudsman said that the Sindh government has done a great job in prison reforms. He also directed IG prison to ensure visits of Oversight committees and their reports may also be sent to the commission as these will be made part of the report that be presented in the Supreme Court.
Later, Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz and others also visited the office of Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace. = DNA
