President Mamnoon Hussain has underscored the need for ethical and moral reformation of the prisoners, adding that in this way not only crime rate can be controlled but prisoners can also be made an effective part of the society. Therefore, reforms in the system of jail are inevitable in this regard.
The President said this on the occasion of the presentation of a report prepared by the Prison Reforms Committee under the auspices of the Federal Ombudsman Secretariat here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad on Wednesday.
The President noted that in the modern world prison reforms have been introduced in the light of Islamic teachings and prisons have been turned into reforms centers. He stated that the basic purpose of punishment is to change their mindset through better treatment and training. He also said that being a political worker he himself has experienced imprisonment and has reached the conclusion by personally observing the condition of prisoners that in the present circumstances reformation of prisoners is not possible. The President added that in jails prisoners are not only subjected to physical punishment but also their self-respect is hurt. Such acts leave debilitating impact on their psyche which creates among them feelings of revenge not only against their own enemies but also against the whole society. The President added that such punishments are of no use which result in the alienation of a certain segment of society from the mainstream and instead of being beneficial it actually becomes counter-productive. He also noted that the modern concept of incarceration and prisons is that if spiritual and physical health of the prisoners is being affected then such punishment is of no use and in fact it leads to chaos in society which needs to be rectified. He stated that Zakat can also be used to secure release of prisoners who cannot pay their fines. He also commended the efforts of the well off segment of society for ameliorating the condition of prisoners and said that such charity will promote goodwill in society.
Federal Ombudsman Salman Faruqui, Head of the Prison Reforms Committee Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi, former Secretary Information Syed Anwar Mehmood, Chairperson of NCHD Senator Razina Alam Khan, Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Vice Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University Dr. Shahid Siddiqui, Executive Director of COMSATS Dr. S M Junaid Zaidi, prominent industrialist Sardar Yasin Malik, Patron in Chief of Pakistan Sweet Homes Zammurd Khan, Managing Director National Book Foundation Dr. Inam ul Haq Javeid and many other prominent social and industrialist personalities attended the event.
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