Corrections in Pakistan (2017)
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Sindh), with features of the indigenous model, are Pakistan, Corrections in local jury systems which take the responsibility YAN ZHANG of resolving issues in an informal approach. It is the respectable men of the area that constitute the Australian National University, Australia local jury. !ey listen to both victims and o$end- ers and make a "nal decision based on their own wisdom. !e Islamic model implements Islamic !e Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Pakistan) is a sharia. !e basic goal of Islamic law is to promote sovereign country located in South Asia. Its pop- a“crimefree”environmentinsteadofcorrecting ulation of more than 197 million (in 2013) makes and rehabilitating o$enders. Physical penalties it the sixth most populous country. In 2009, including corporal punishment are applied. !is Punjabis represented 44.15% of Pakistan’s model enjoys a long tradition in Muslim countries total population, ethnically ranking in "rst and particularly in Pakistan, though it has not place, followed by Pashtuns (15.42%), Sindhis been implemented completely. !e cosmopolitan (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), model (Western model) of justice based on the Balochs (3.57%), and other ethnic minorities “utilitarian” concept was introduced in British (4.66%). Pakistan is a federal parliamentary South Asia in the eighteenth and nineteenth cen- republic with four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, turies. !e Indian Penal Code (IPC) is a typical Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan), two example of cosmopolitan legal culture. It was autonomous and disputed territories, one fed- dra#ed in 1837, passed by the legislative assembly eral capital territory, and a group of federally in 1860 and implemented in 1862; it is now called administered tribal areas. the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 (PPC) and many !e components of Pakistan’s criminal justice amendments have been attached to it. system still follow the traditional methods of prevention, interrogation, investigation, prosecu- The Use of Imprisonment tion, and imprisonment (Fasihuddin 2013: 247). !e criminal justice system in Pakistan is mainly Prisons, like all other institutions of criminal an institutional combination of precolonial and justice system in Pakistan, are the heritage of colonial elements and a variety of Islamic legal the British colonial era. !is prison system once interpretations. According to the Constitution functioned as an instrument to consolidate of Pakistan 1973, provincial responsibility for Crown rule, and to suppress political oppo- crime control and prevention, and relevant jus- nents as well as antisocial elements. Several tice administration, are mainly shouldered by colonial-era statutes regulate the functions of the respective provincial governments, while prisons, including incarceration, treatment, and issues such as enactment of criminal laws and transfer of inmates. For the sake of amending criminal justice personnel training are under the the old prison-related laws established in British jurisdiction of the federal government. India, the Governor General of India passed the A#er independence in 1947, the penal culture Act No. IX of 1894 which was enforced on July 1, of Pakistan enjoys, to some extent, a coexistence 1894. It consisted of 12 chapters and 62 sections, of three di$erent models. !ey are the indigenous de"ning the rules of maintenance of prisons model, the Islamic model, and the cosmopolitan and o%cers’ behavior, rights and obligations of model (Zaman 2011: 9). !e indigenous model prisoners, as well as discipline, work assignment of penal culture focuses on collectivity rather of convicted inmates, and punishment of o$enses than individuality. It mostly prioritizes collective within prison premises. !e Prisoner Act of 1900 action and responsibility, and little importance is was an act to consolidate the law relating to pris- attached to the individual. Punjait (in Punjab) and oners con"ned by court. It accommodated nine Jirga (in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and parts with 53 sections, covering issues such as !e Encyclopedia of Corrections.EditedbyKentR.Kerley. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/9781118845387.wbeoc045 2PAKISTAN,CORRECTIONS IN removal of prisoners from one prison to another, choose to do work but will not be pun- discharge of prisoners, attendance in court, ished if they neglect the work; they are and employment for prisoners, etc. !e Punjab also eligible for amnesty; Borstal Act 1926 was an act for the establishment • imprisonment with punishment: those and regulation of Borstal Institutions in Punjab. It who may be given punishment work contained 36 sections which discussed the deten- during their imprisonment; tion, training, and reformation of prisoners under • death sentence: those who are housed in the age of 21. !e 1932 Jail Manual was given separate cells and are always monitored assent by the governor in the Council of Punjab by a guard. in December 1932. It consisted of 42 chapters, 3. Age.Prisonerscanbegenerallyclassi"ed 1,160 rules, 20 supplementary appendices, and a according to their ages. Under Rule 308 of comprehensive index. !is manual particularly jail rules, prisoners are divided into three mentioned the appointment of European warders groups as follows: for European prisoners, the role of senior assis- • juvenile prisoners: children under 16 tant superintendent, documentations of bails, who are guaranteed special rights under duties of convict monitors, leprosy, and European the Juvenile Law of Justice 2002; prisoners and their treatment, and so on. !e • young prisoners: those who are aged Pakistan Prison Rules 1978, a comprehensive between 16 and 20; statute that comprises 50 chapters with 1,250 • adult prisoners: those who are older rules, guided the daily operation and manage- than 20. ment of Pakistan’s prisons. Other acts relating to prisons and prisoners are as follows: Rule 4 of Pakistan Prison Rules categorizes prison into four types, namely central prisons, • Regulation III of 1818, for the con"nement of special prisons, district prisons, and sub-jails in state prisoners; each province: • Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (Act XLV of 1860); • Reformatory Schools Act, 1897; 1. Central prisons.Centralprisonsshallhave • Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 (Act V of the capacity of accommodating ordinarily 1898); more than 1,000 prisoners despite the length • Sindh Children Act 1955, and !e Sindh of sentence. !e provincial government is Borstal Schools Act 1955; authorized to discretionarily redesignate any • Probation of O$enders Ordinance, 1960; special prison or district prison to be a central • Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000; prison. • Mental Health Ordinance, 2001. 2. Special prisons.(a)!eprovincialgovernment can nominate a prison as a special one at any In terms of the classi"cation of prisoners in time or establish a special prison at any place. Pakistan, there are various categories. Speci"cally, (b) Except women’s prisons, open prisons, they are: borstal institutions, and juvenile training centers, no other prisons shall be deemed to 1. Sentence awarded. Based on this, prisoners be special prisons. are categorized into two types: 3. District prisons. Other than central prisons or • convicted prisoners: those whose cases special prisons, all prisons shall be deemed have been decided and sentences passed; to be district prisons, which can be catego- • under trial prisoners: those who are wait- rized into three classes: (a) "rst class, with ing for the decisions of their cases by the an accommodating capacity of 500 prisoners courts. or more with sentences up to "ve years; (b) 2. Nature of sentence. Based on the nature of second class, accommodating between 300 sentence prisoners can be classi"ed as: and 500 prisoners with sentences up to three • simple imprisonment prisoners: those years; (c) third class, capable of accommodat- who are only incarcerated, without ing fewer than 300 prisoners with sentences punishment by labor work. !ey can up to one year. P AKISTAN,CORRECTIONS IN 3 4. Sub-jails.!esearesmallerinstitutionswhere 6. Community: re-socializing inmates by criminal suspects are detained. A provincial religious and other education for greater government by a general or special order can well-being a#er their release. nominate a “subsidiary jail” at any place. Besides the above prisons, there is also a judicial Statistics on prison in Pakistan lockup (Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan !ere are two major sources (International Centre 1997: 94). Judicial lockups are established by the for Prison Studies, ICPS; National Academy for provincial government at tehsil and sub-tehsil Prisons Administration, NAPA) that can supply level. In judicial lockups, fewer than 100 prisoners statistics on the prison population of Pakistan, but are housed. their statistics are not very consistent. At present there are a total of 99 prisons in Pakistan. Table 1 Classes of prisons shows how these 99 prisons are distributed. Most Prisons are also categorized into di$erent classes of the prisons in Pakistan are built in Punjab, according to the facilities provided and how pris- Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Among oners are treated based on their social status: the 99 prisons, 25 are central jails scattered in major Pakistani cities, 9 are sub-jails, 50 are at the AClass Such prisons are for prominent o$end- district level, 5 are juvenile jails, 5 are specially ers including political leaders. !ey are given for women, 1 is a special prison, and 4 are judicial separate rooms, good quality food, and are per- lockups (Fasihuddin 2013). mitted to meet visitors (even for conjugal visits Table 2 shows the recent prison popula- in some cases). tion trend in Pakistan. Since 1993, the inmate BClass Prisoners of higher social status are housed there. Some speci"c facilities are also Table 1 Distribution of prisons in Pakistan. o$ered. CClass Conditions in these prisons are the Name of province No. of prisons most miserable. !ey generally hold common 1. Punjab 32 criminals and those in pretrial detention. 2. Sindh 22 Floors of such prisons are usually dirty and no 3. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 23 furnishings are available.