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Pakistan
Prisons
Under the 1962 West Pakistan Jail Warden Service Rules, prisons
are managed by a career prison service, which sets qualifications
for wardens, but these guidelines are reportedly not well observed.
The service is organized by province under an inspector general
of prisons. At division level, the senior official is the director
of prisons, and there are jail superintendents at district and
municipal levels. Simple lockups are maintained in some villages.
There are some female wardens to handle female prisoners, but
more are needed.
Prisons are not salubrious places. The common criminal from a
poor background is assigned to Class C confinement, with virtually
no amenities. Abuse is common. Prisoners of higher social status
are assigned to Class B prisons, where conditions are better,
and they can procure better food and some amenities from their
own pocket. Class A prisons are for "prominent" offenders. Conjugal
visits are not the rule but are allowed in some cases.
Juveniles are handled separately in both the court system and
in confinement. The criminal code prescribes special courts for
offenders under age fifteen unless they are charged with a particularly
serious offense and a high court orders that they be tried before
a regular sessions court. There are juvenile wards in regular
jails for offenders up to age twenty-one. In addition, a few reform
institutions for boys between eleven and twenty years of age attempt
to rehabilitate young offenders.
Data as of April 1994
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