Ansar Burney to spend HR day in Prison
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—The care-taker Minister for Human Rights Ansar Burney will celebrate ‘international human rights day’ today (Monday) in the two prisons of Lahore; and arrange for a 2 month remission of all prisoners in Pakistani jails excluding those imprisoned for heinous crimes.
Ansar Burney, a prominent human rights activist and the first Federal Minister of the newly created full flesh Ministry of Human Rights, announced to celebrate the day with prisoners and under-trial persons of Kot-Lakpat Jail and District Jail in Lahore.
As part of the celebrations for international human rights day, Ansar Burney has also made the extraordinary arrangement of reducing the jail sentences of all prisoners in Pakistani jails (excluding those imprisoned for heinous crimes) by 2 months.
Through directives sent to the IG Prisons of Baluchistan, NWFP, Punjab and Sindh, the Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney requested the 4 Jail heads to reduce the jail sentences of prisoners by two months; as they are empowered to do by Pakistani prison laws.
The appeals were accepted and thousands of prisoners languishing in Pakistani jails on minor and petty offences will have their sentences slashed by 2 months with immediate affect. All the four IG prisons also confirmed that they have reduced the sentence to two months.
During his trip to the two prisons of Lahore, the Federal Minister will also distribute food and clothing amongst the prisoners, listen to their complaints and announce mprovements in jail conditions through the Ministry of Human Rights.
After his visits in Lahore on Monday, the Federal Minister is expected to arrive Multan tomorrow (Tuesday), where he will visit women’s prison and meet female prisoners to hear their complaints, distribute food, clothing and gifts amongst the prisoners; and arrange a picnic and gifts for the innocent children of the lady prisoners who live with their mothers inside the jail.
The Federal Minister is also expected to visit prisons in all four provinces of Pakistan over the next few days to improve prison conditions and work for the betterment of prisoner’s rights all over Pakistan.