LAHORE:
With 102,026 inmates crammed into 128 prisons across Pakistan, including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the country’s prison system is operating at an alarming 152.2% of its official capacity, according to the Report. prison data 2024.
The groundbreaking Justice Pakistan Project (JPP) report sheds light on the appalling conditions with some prisons exceeding 300% capacity.
The report reveals that overcrowding remains a critical concern despite a modest 1.66% increase in the prison population from 2023.
Prosecuted prisoners make up 73.41% of the total population, underscoring systemic inefficiencies such as lengthy court delays and ineffective bail and parole systems.
Punjab, which houses 60.7% of the prison population, operates its jails at 173.6% capacity. It is followed by Sindh with 161.42%, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 102.50% and Balochistan with 115.60%. Karachi Central Prison is an example of the crisis, with a capacity of 8,518 inmates compared to a capacity of 2,400 (a staggering 354.92%).
In Punjab, 61,813 prisoners are held in facilities designed for 37,217 prisoners. Despite the construction of four new prisons with capacity for 2,268 inmates, the province’s efforts to alleviate overcrowding remain insufficient.
The number of prisoners awaiting trial has increased by 8% in the last eight years, rising from 66% in 2017 to 73.41% in 2024. This is significantly higher than the global average of 27%.
The report also highlights the inconsistency in information on pretrial detainees. Sindh recorded a 29.5% decline in the number of remand detainees in 2024, while Punjab and KP did not report any data.
Drug-related crimes continue to dominate the prison population, with 23,367 inmates incarcerated under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act (CNSA), an increase of 18.98% from 2023. Punjab leads with 13,331 cases, which represents 29.94% of its total prison population.
Ironically, while incarceration rates for drug crimes have increased, conviction rates have plummeted. Punjab saw a drop from 16% in 2022 to just 2% in 2023.
Death row prisoners also saw a slight increase, increasing by 1.17% to 3,646 in 2024, even though they have not been executed since December 2019.
The report criticizes outdated prison rules, particularly in Punjab, where the Prison Rules of 1978 do not align with international standards. The proposed reforms, including the draft Punjab Prison Rules 2020 and 2022, remain unadopted.
Meanwhile, Sindh and KP have made progress, with the Sindh Prison and Correctional Services Act 2019 and the KP Prisons Amendment Act 2020 more closely aligned with international standards.
