NCHR team visits Adiala jail to probe prisoner's suicide.

ISLAMABAD -- Representatives of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) visited the death cell of Adiala jail to probe the suicide case of a death row convict.

On the directions of NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha, the team visited the jail to follow up on the improvements made in the jail in the light of Islamabad High Court (IHC) directions.

The team visited the death cell and examined the investigation reports of the suicide case of prisoner Nadeem Ahmad. They met the witnesses and jail administration regarding the case.

In a statement issued here, the NCHR said Ahmad committed suicide by hanging himself in the washroom of cell No 8 on January 11 while other inmates were busy meeting their relatives during the visiting hours. The investigation report by the jail authorities showed that Ahmad was suffering from psychiatric issues and was on medical/psychiatric treatment. It said since Ahmad's punishment, no family members had ever come to visit him.

'It appeared that he committed suicide due to severe depression,' the NHCR said in the statement.

Its team also met officials of the jail administration, jail doctors and physiologists and interviewed a number of prisoners.

Talking to the NCHR team, prisoners who had filed complaints in IHC and NCHR reported a considerable positive change in the behaviour of the jail officials.

The NCHR team said it noted that despite directions issued by IHC for improvement in medical facilities, only one doctor was available in the jail hospital and some of the basic medicines like insulin and psychiatric medications were out of stock. The team stated that there was only one female psychiatric officer working in the jail on attachment basis.

The team's report said that crowding still existed in the jail as there were...