Sindh govt begins process of freeing elderly prisoners

KARACHI: Sindh government on Sunday has announced to begin a process of releasing male and female convicts who reached 65 and 60 respectively, while completing half of their prison sentence.

The recent move came after the abolition of more than a century-old Prison Act of 1894 in June 2019, when the provincial cabinet endorsed the new Sindh Prison and Correction Act 2019.

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Sindh government’s spokesman further said that the aim was to confine all prisoners to safe custody, to guarantee their fundamental rights and to rehabilitate them as law-abiding citizens.

The provincial government has also decided to release those convicts who suffer from career-threatening diseases and require immediate treatment under a newly enforced prison law.

Sindh government’s spokesman said there was a considerable need to replace the punitive law of 1894 and the prison system with one that could contribute to preserving and safeguarding a just, stable and healthy society by imposing court sentences.

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Previously, the provincial government had transferred the case of more than half a dozen prisoners who had been found sick and needed immediate treatment. In the coming weeks, they were expected to be released from prisons, Spokesman added.