Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi paid a surprise visit to Central Jail Kot Lakhpat in Lahore on Friday where he spent two hours listening to the problems of male and female prisoners and reviewed the facilities being provided to them, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
He inspected the barracks of male and female inmates and inquired about the behaviour of the jail staff from prisoners.
The CM also inspected the prison kitchen, checked the quality of the prisoners' food.
Likewise, he went to the jail hospital to check the medical facilities for the prisoners. He asked from the prisoner patients about their problems. He instructed to ensure good treatment and supply of essential medicines to the patients in the prison hospital.
He directed that inmates with kidney and liver diseases will receive treatment at the Pakistan Kidney & Liver Institute (PKLI), and that a focal person would be appointed in this regard.
After visiting the jail hospital, Naqvi went on to visit technical training center and daycare center for female prisoners. He then gave the jail authorities instructions to take the best possible care of the inmates' children.
He said that prisoners are also human beings, they should get basic facilities.
During his visit, he found three women prisoners lying on a single cot. “A cot for three female inmates is cruelty. There should be one cot for one prisoner,” he added.
He lamented that the prisoners are compelled to spend their lives behind the bars despite completing their sentences, adding that some prisoners' appeals did not take up to ten years.
The Chief Minister also called the Deputy Commissioner immediately and instructed him to solve the problems.