PM Orders To Implement SC Orders On Release Of Female Inmates

(@fidahassanain)

PM orders to implement SC orders on release of female inmates

Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the authorities concerned that all the female inmates languishing in jails and meet the criteria set by the SC in its order 299/2020 for release of under trial women inmates, sought report on foreign women prisoners as well all those women who are death row for humanitarian consideration.

ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Set 2nd, 2020) Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered the relevant authorities to immediately release all women prisoners who fulfilled criteria of the Supreme Court's order.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “After a mtg with @mohrpakistan,Attorney General & Barrister Ali Zafar, I have asked for immediate implementation of SC order 299/2020 for release of Under Trial women prisoners & convicted women prisoners who fulfill criteria of SC Order,”.

The PM also sought report on foreign women prisoners and the women inmates on death row for humanitarian consideration.

According to a last year report published with Dawn, In July 2018, there had been 1,955 female prisoners in Pakistan. Of those, 1,225 are juveniles and 33 are on death row, representing less than 1% of all death row inmates.

There are 33 crimes in Pakistan that merit the death penalty, including non-lethal crimes such as blasphemy, kidnapping and drug offences. Commonly, women are sentenced to death for murder, terrorism and drug trafficking. Women who are members of religious minorities have also been the target of blasphemy prosecutions.

According to a 2018 report by the Cornell Center on Death Penalty Worldwide, female inmates on death row are often from lower socio-economic backgrounds, unable to pay for private representation and mostly illiterate, hindering their ability to advocate on their own behalf.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.