Eight more prisons to be built in Sindh.

KARACHI -- The Sindh government has decided to construct eight more prisons in the province, as the existing prisons are overcrowded, where 17,239 inmates are lodged against a total capacity of 13,038.

This decision was taken at a meeting held here on Thursday to review the prevailing situation of prisons in the province. The meeting, which was co- chaired by Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah and Federal Ombudsman Syed Tahir Shahbaz, was informed that the reason for overcrowding of the existing prisons was shifting of prisoners from other districts which did not have jails to lodge the prisoners.

The chief secretary stated that the government had planned, besides adding new barracks to the existing jails, to build more prisons to reduce the pressure on over crowded jails. In this connection he said that new barracks were being built at the existing prison in Malir to increase its capacity while the government planned to construct new prisons in Thatta, Nawabshah, Qambar-ShahdAadkot, Mithi, Kandhkot and Jamshoro and District West.

Mr Shah directed the home secretary to...