Lahore: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi underscored the necessity of a humane and effective prison system to ensure a fair legal framework during a consultative meeting focused on prison reforms.
According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Justice Afridi expressed grave concern over the overcrowding in the country’s prisons, labeling the situation as alarming. He highlighted that the national prison capacity is 66,625, yet the current number of inmates has surged to 108,643. In Punjab alone, the prison capacity stands at 36,365, while the actual number of prisoners is 67,837, including 36,128 who are awaiting trial.
The Chief Justice emphasized the urgent need for reforms to tackle these issues, identifying the meeting as the initial step in the broader process of overhauling the prison system.