Guantanamo like Prisons of Sindh

Cries of shutting down the Guantanamo prison have been around for some time now. reason being the inhuman conditions at the prison which rather than reforming the prisoners is forcing them to become hardcore terrorists once they are released. Numerous examples could be quoted in this context. Such huge global outcry in this regard had bent Obama to include the closure of this notorious prison in his election manifesto and later order to shut it down for good with detainees shifted and tried in the US.

Keeping in mind the above scenario we do have several Guantanamo like prisons in Sindh, Pakistan especially the Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur central jail, which grace the headlines every now and then for prisoners taking policemen hostage or using other means to register their protest against subhuman treatment i.e. overcrowded jails, barbaric torture, alleged extortion from the prisoners , unhygienic living conditions, jail hospitals lacking requisite facilities, inadequate quality of food, jailers receiving bribe from their relatives, prisoners not being presented before the court when due and lacunas in the provision of legal aid to the deserving prisoners.

Although one is in consensus that these prisoners are alleged or convicted murderers, kidnappers, rapists or involved in other heinous crimes. But in today’s world the term served in jail should be reformatory i.e. to make prisoners responsible and useful citizens of the society after their release from jail rather than serve a purpose to unleash the rebel inside to avenge what they had to suffer in jail which was a little more than what they deserved, results of which would be no less than a catastrophe for the society.

Internationally, a prisoner or a detainee has a right to be protected by authorities in the case of assault or rape, right to Medical Treatment, right to freedom of expression, reading materials, and communication ,right to express concern with the prison’s standard of living, right to a court of law with regards to prison authorities, right to freedom of religion, right to access to a court of law, right to drink safe water, right to get treated as same as everyone else and right to food and clothing.

Nevertheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel with steps taken to develop technical or vocational skills among the prisoners and the initiation of Rs.300 million Jail reform program by the Sindh government are the right steps towards transforming these Guantanamo like prisons into reformatory centers, as they say better late than never.


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12 responses to “Guantanamo like Prisons of Sindh”

  1. Ehsun Avatar

    I think legal jails in Punjab aren't any different than Guantanamo. Some of the inhuman acts of our police department can be seen on youtube. These torture cells are available for hire as well.

  2. Nazia Avatar
    Nazia

    Salman

    Guantanamo jails are designed on the basis and theme of our jails which usually come in feudal and miltiary circle.

    First world countries have modified their jails so much that if our criminals would be place there , they would thought to be in luxurious living styles as compare to their normal living styles in Paksitan.So I am sure if your profession crimnal would be taken there they would love to stay there as long as possible and might call other fiends too.

    In first world jail, no problem of power and water shortages,,better quality bedding, good quality food supply, recreational activities in free time along with facilities available to improve any kind of skills.

    So Americans working with our people were guided to set replica of our jails in Guantanamo as Civil laws in America wouldn't allow them for this within US and in this environment our professional criminals prefer to live by accepting all kinds of crime whether they do it or not.

    Asian criminals or our people trained in coarse environment of Pakistan can only think of confession of crimes if Guantanamo like torture facilities would be available available to them.

    1. jibran Avatar
      jibran

      Nazia,

      You are explaining as if you have been there. Don't think that western prisons are any different.

      Don't think what ever you see in the movies to be true copy.

      A prison is a prison, no matter where and don't think the torture does not exist in these prisons be it at the hands of cops or homosexual rapists.

      So if you don't know about something then its better to keep your mouth shut.

  3. Nazia Avatar
    Nazia

    Chutto

    you are sure one a problem child of your guardians and naughty nephew of me.

    Handling professional criminals for 24/24 is not job of humble and decent police officers.These officers are picked and trained as per nature of criminals keeping in confinement for longer periods.

    In criminology human mind has no limit too and he/she can go to all unimaginable extent beyond the approach of those who are handling them .So actually barbarous nature men or women are hired for handling such felonious characters of any society.Then it is state responsibility to keep eye on them through different social networks to improve the negative approach of these lawbreakers toward positivity and usefulness.So it is responsibility of state to provide them facility of of re survival/reforms or chance to get rid of bad repute from their acts of past.

    Read carefully I am talking about availability of power,space and food facility available to them which is in least quality available in our side.

    In our most of jails, 3 to 4 time more capacity are stuffed up with criminals with worst kind of living conditions and when they come out they behave like not more than monsters of state.

    Juvenile and women jail cells are showing more pathetic clips of confinement as the people come here usually are not professionals and some suppression or mistake under some force bring them under state laws.Some are really innocent and victimized on the basis of enmity by their close ones.But in residing such inhuman residences, society receive more aggressive and skillful state criminals.

    So there is no comparison of jails of developed countries with Pakistan's cells

  4. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Internationally, a prisoner or a detainee has a right to be protected by authorities in the case of assault or rape, right to Medical Treatment, right to freedom of expression, reading materials, and communication ,right to express concern [Salman]

    =====================

    Justice (retd.) Nasir Aslam Zahid Justice (retd.) Nasir Aslam Zahid has been the Chief Justice of the of the Sindh High Court and a Judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Federal Shahriat Court until his resignation in 2000 when he refused to take an oath of office as according to General Pervez Musharraf’s Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). During his time as a judge, Justice Nasir adjudicated upon all kinds of cases, but he is especially known for his involvement and contribution towards the protection of women’s rights. Whether it is from his position as a judge, or the Chairperson of a Committee on Women or the Dean of a Law School, Justice Nasir has given an invaluable contribution to improving women’s access to justice and working to combat discriminatory laws against women
    http://mowdalumni.com.pk/pdf/Justice_Nasir_Aslam_

    One of the most memorable cases came before me during my first few weeks as Chief Justice. One of the first orders of the day is to deliver all letters addressed to the Chief Justice to him. While reading these letters, I came upon the letter of a prisoner who had been in jail for 14 years and had never even been inside the court room to argue his case. I immediately filed a Constitutional Petition on his behalf and issued a notice to the Advocate General to investigate the matter. On further investigation, the facts were even more horrific. The man had been charged in 142 cases. He had not been convicted for any of those cases, the cases had not been concluded and even some of the files had been lost. Most of the original witnesses had never testified and there was no or very little proof in the 142 cases he was charged with, while he had langu

  5. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    right to Medical Treatment, [Salman]

    =============

    Scabies outbreak in juvenile prison Monday, January 26, 2009 By Aroosa Masroor Karachi http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=159

    Owing to poor hygienic conditions in the juvenile prison, the number of scabies patients at the Youthful Offender Industrial School has been rising. The highly contagious infection has infested 236 prisoners out of the total 265 inmates due to overcrowding in barracks and close contact among prisoners. Doctors claim the infection has been spreading through clothes, mattresses and pillows that the prisoners share. “Scabies is very contagious and it can be easily transmitted from one person to another through direct physical contact. Those with weaker immune system are at a greater risk of contracting the infection from another inmate,” said Dr Sumaira Mughal, who has been working with the young prisoners for the past four months.

    What is Scabies?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabies

  6. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Tragedy of Pakistan's prison children By Vera Frankl Monday, 6 November 2006, 00:28 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6111162.stm

    Throughout Pakistan, thousands of children are locked inside police cells or overcrowded jails, victims of a justice system that treats the very young much the same as adults. Kids as young as seven can spend years behind bars – before the courts have even decided if they are innocent or guilty.

    "It's horrifying. There are beatings, or sometimes even sexual abuse. They are kept like slaves. Inside the police station, they are being tortured. All things aside from electric shocks are being used." This includes beatings with leather whips, or being hung upside down to extract confessions."At the police station they beat me – four of them set about me with batons and they just kept beating me," said Khadim, one boy who agreed to talk as long as his real name was not used.

    1. Nazia Avatar
      Nazia

      Personal observation in this regard ,that these boys or girls who face humiliated attitude from police or elders in the form of sexual or physical abuse becomes dormant alien of reacted society.

      I saw few in some kind of rehabilitation process.They looked docile and submissive but as per observation of psychologists they would remain in this state as long as they would be in dominant environment, they wont react but whenever they would feel the liberty of their acts, they would behave in same manners in which they were handled in confinement.

      Even it was mentioned that intelligent among them could be professional serial killers in coming years.

    2. Aamir Mughal Avatar

      Quite right. Parents and Society must pay attention to this by keeping a close eye on their children and their mingling with adults [even within the family]

  7. Aamir Mughal Avatar

    Rights of the Child in Pakistan – Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by Pakistan
    http://www.omct.org/pdf/cc/PakistanCRCreport.en.doc

  8. ZAHEER ABBAS Avatar

    pakistani jails r not diffrent from other jails so thier is a confusion that pakistani jails r diffrent from other so the jails means jails,,,,……

  9. comforter sets Avatar

    very nice post. I like it.