NACTA requests CODE PAKISTAN to Conduct a Study on Prison Overcrowding

February 3, 2017: Prison overcrowding has been identified in many studies as one of the major problems in prisons in Pakistan. According to the World Prison Brief, Pakistan reached an occupancy rate of 171.6 percent in 2015 with its 80,169 inmates in 88 prisons administered by the provincial governments. Pakistan claims the 17th largest prison population in the world, but with a low ratio per capita of 43/100,000 placing it as 207th in the world. About 69.1 percent of the inmates, however, have not been convicted of any crime (second in Asia) reflecting a dysfunctional criminal justice system with very lengthy procedures. According to the May 2016 report of the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan, 70 to 80 percent of the prisoners are awaiting or under trial.

The figures above translate to poor living and sanitary conditions inside the jails as a result of overstretched resources. When the medical services could not keep up, it results in the spread of contagious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis and scabies. Overcrowding also contributes to the worsening of criminal operations inside the jail that may lead to guards resorting to ill-treatment as punishment. Due to lack of space, it also makes it difficult for jail authorities to keep different categories of inmates in separate cells (ex. juveniles, high-security prisoners, mentally ill, etc.)

The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has formally requested CODE PAKISTAN to conduct a nation-wide study to identify the causes and consequences of high numbers of under-trial prisoners (UTPs) leading to prison overcrowding in Pakistan and coming up with a thorough assessment of the criminal justice system with regard to delays in the processing and adjudication of cases.
NACTA is mandated to implement the National Action Plan (NAP), unanimously agreed upon by the political leadership of the country in December 2014. Revamping of the criminal justice system is the 20th point of NAP. CODE PAKISTAN’s study will be dovetailed to NACTA’s efforts in conducting research on Point 20 of NAP mentioned above.