Punjab has decided to let go almost 20,000 of its 46,000 prisoners amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, sources at the interior ministry informed Geo News on Friday, as jails in Pakistan remain overcrowded.
Jail superintendents — who have reached out to the courts to approve the bail of prisoners handed sentences of seven years or less — took this step in light of special instructions, the sources said.
Bail requests were also filed for prisoners jailed for petty crimes, as well as the elderly, or criminals over 60 years of age, the sources added. Further, those with sentences ranging from seven years to 25 were being determined on a case-by-case basis.
In addition, bail requests were submitted for prisoners under trial for less serious crimes.
Jails in dire straits
Last week, the Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minullah had ordered for bails to be issued for prisoners facing trial for minor crimes in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He made the decision while hearing a case of 1,362 incarcerated prisoners.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat had assured the court that no prisoner held at Adiala Jail was infected with the coronavirus. However, Justice Minallah was worried given that the coronavirus outbreak worsened in China after it spread among prisoners.
The top IHC judge had noted how prisons in Pakistan were in dire straits and that the situation would get out of control if any prisoner became infected.
