Zardari staying execution of 6,000 inmates for three years

LAHORE:-

                    More than 6,000 condemned prisoners are not being executed only for the reason that President Asif Ali Zardari has been granting stay for the last three years, sources in the prisons department confided to TheNation on Wednesday.

They said 33 condemned prisoners were hanged in 2008 after which the president granted stay in their execution after every three months. Last stay orders were issued on July 24 with reference no-F-No-8-11-2008 (PTN) part wherein the interior ministry through the Punjab home secretary said the president was pleased to grant stay in execution of the condemned prisoners up to September 30, 2011. As per jail population statistics there are 6,063 condemned prisoners in all the 32 jails of Punjab with 23 women prisoners also. Most of the condemned prisoners are involved in murder cases while some of them are involved in narcotics (9C), anti-state and terror activities (7-ATA). The stay order was not implemented in cases wherein the prisoners were involved in cases of anti-state activities and 7-ATA.

A senior jail officer seeking anonymity said 537 condemned prisoners were kept in central jail Sahiwal, 502 in central jail Gujranwala while the Faisalabad central jail stood on number three with 485 condemned inmates. Sources in the prisons department claimed the jails of the province were already overcrowded since more than 55,000 prisoners had been locked there against the capacity of more than 21,000 inmates.

The above-said situation has left no option for the jail authorities but to accommodate five to six prisoners in a death cell which is meant for the accommodation of single inmate.

As per details, there are 461condmned prisoners in central jail Lahore, 274 in district jail Kasur, two in district jail Lahore, 303 in district jail Sheikhupura, 290 in district jail Sialkot, 376 in central jail Rawalpindi, 148 in district jail Attock, 192 in district jail Gujrat, 166 in district jail Jhelum, 130 in district jail MB Din, 259 in central jail Minawali, eight in district jail Faisalabad, 241 in district jail Jhang, 268 in district jail Sargohdha, 119 in district jail Shahpur, 154 in district jail Vehari, 154 in district jail TT Singh, 361 in central jail Multan, 299 in central jail Bahawalpur, 204 in central jail DG Khan, 42 in district jail Multan, 84 in district jail RY Khan and four condemned prisoners are at present in women jail Multan. It is also noteworthy that 58 condemned prisoners out of 6,063 are enjoying B class facilities in different jails of Punjab.

A jail officer seeking anonymity demanded of the Supreme Court to take sou moto of the situation. The only reason behind granting stay in the condemned prisoners’ execution could be that the president wanted to send a message to international community that there was no death sentence in Pakistan, he added.