ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s four provinces pledged to pursue sustained prison reforms, with their chief ministers agreeing that modernizing prisons is not only an administrative requirement but also a constitutional obligation and a matter of public safety.
The commitment came at the National Conference on Prison Reforms, organised by the Supreme Court under the National Judicial (Policy-Making) Committee (NJPMC), which sought to develop a nationally coordinated prison reform framework in collaboration with provincial governments.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti signed the Islamabad Declaration on Prison Reforms, reaffirming their support for a comprehensive overhaul of prison systems.
Delivering the keynote address, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi said prisons reflected the true state of the criminal justice system and stressed that lasting reforms required collective institutional responsibility and sustained leadership from the provinces. He emphasised that the justice system must remain rooted in respect for human dignity.
The conference also featured personal accounts from the chief ministers. Maryam Nawaz spoke about her experience in solitary confinement, saying it shaped her understanding of prisoners’ rights and inspired reforms across Punjab’s prisons. KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, meanwhile, referred to Adiala Jail, where PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan is imprisoned, and called for better facilities for visitors.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, while announcing the Islamabad Declaration, clarified that the proposed reforms to colonial-era prison laws were intended to benefit thousands of ordinary inmates rather than high-profile prisoners such as Nawaz Sharif or Imran Khan.
Afridi maintained that the reform process should begin at Adiala Jail. Referring to the proposed e-visit system, he urged Chief Justice Afridi to facilitate communication between Imran Khan and his two sons living abroad. He also requested that shaded waiting areas be installed outside the prison to protect visitors from extreme heat.
Maryam Nawaz said her imprisonment permanently changed her perspective and strengthened her understanding of the state’s responsibility towards people in custody. She said prisons should never become places where human dignity is compromised. She also presented the Punjab government’s prison reform initiatives, highlighting improvements in facilities across all prisons in the province.
She stressed that prisons should serve as institutions reflecting society’s values and the effectiveness of the justice system rather than being mere places of confinement. Punjab currently operates 45 correctional facilities housing around 69,000 inmates, far exceeding their authorised capacity of 39,000. However, she noted that overcrowding was largely driven by the fact that nearly three-fourths of inmates were undertrial prisoners.
Recalling her own imprisonment, Maryam said she had introduced emergency panic buttons in prison cells across Punjab to enable inmates to seek immediate assistance when needed.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said rehabilitation remained central to his government’s prison policy, adding that no inmate should be denied legal representation simply because they could not afford it.
The Islamabad Declaration recognised that prisons across Pakistan face severe challenges, including overcrowding, a large undertrial population, inadequate infrastructure, limited healthcare and mental health services, and insufficient access to education, vocational training and rehabilitation.
The provinces pledged to reduce unnecessary incarceration, particularly among undertrial prisoners, by improving access to bail, legal aid, probation, parole, diversion programmes and other non-custodial alternatives, with particular attention to women, children, persons with disabilities, people with mental health conditions and individuals detained for minor, poverty-related offences.
They also committed to reviewing provincial laws, prison rules, policies and administrative practices governing arrests, detention, sentencing, prison management, probation, parole and rehabilitation to reduce overcrowding and bring prison administration in line with constitutional and human rights standards.
The declaration further called for increased investment in prison infrastructure, sanitation, nutrition, healthcare, mental health services, complaint redress mechanisms and stronger safeguards against torture, ill-treatment and neglect.
It also emphasised expanding education, vocational training, psychosocial support, drug rehabilitation, skills development and post-release assistance to improve rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.
Additionally, the provinces agreed to strengthen coordination among prison departments, police, prosecution, probation and parole services, legal aid institutions, health and social welfare departments, and the judiciary to ensure efficient case processing and timely access to justice.
Finally, the signatories committed to regularly reporting progress to the national prison reform coordination mechanism, including updates on reducing overcrowding, improving prison conditions, expanding non-custodial alternatives and strengthening rehabilitation programmes.