Daily Times

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan on Friday paid a surprise visit to a prison near Muzaffarabad while coming from Islamabad. He inspected different sections of the prison and inquired after the health of the prisoners. The prison inmates who were surprised over the PM’s sudden visit to the jail apprised him of the difficulties being faced by them. The AJK PM stayed there for three hours and listened to their grievances. The AJK PM issued orders for the supply of safe drinking water inside the jail and hot water in washrooms. He also issued instructions to concerned authorities to provide all basic amenities to the prisoners including hygienic food, medicine and water. The jail authorities gave a detailed briefing regarding the different sections of the prison.

Speaking on the occasion, the AJK PM said that prisons should be reformatory institutions instead of becoming nurseries of crimes. “Those who are held in minor crimes and sent to jail should learn a skill so that they could play a positive role in society,” the AJK PM said. He directed the jail authorities to arrange separate barracks for the prisoners involved in serious crimes and those with minor crimes. The AJK PM asked the jail authorities to make sure that drug dealers, killers, and thieves were kept in separate barracks. The AJK PM issued orders to compile and computerize the records of all the persons coming to the jails. The AJK Prime Minister also paid a prisoner’s fine of Rs 10,000 who was arrested on charges of vagrancy and had been languishing in the prison for the past six months. The AJK PM ordered the jail administration to ensure the teaching of the Holy Quran inside the jail.