LAHORE, Aug 11 (APP):Punjab Home Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi on Tuesday held a meeting with a US Embassy delegation led by Timothy Lockwood of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to discuss prison reforms, improvements in the justice system, capacity building of officers, and enhancing mutual cooperation. During the meeting, Dr Qazi briefed the delegation on various initiatives launched by the Punjab government for social …
US delegation calls on Punjab home Secretary
LAHORE, Aug 11 (APP):Punjab Home Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi on Tuesday held a meeting with a
US Embassy delegation led by Timothy Lockwood of the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to discuss prison reforms, improvements in the justice system,
capacity building of officers, and enhancing mutual cooperation.
During the meeting, Dr Qazi briefed the delegation on various initiatives launched by the Punjab government for social rehabilitation and reform of inmates.
The secretary said the provincial government was working on a multi-dimensional plan to transform Punjab’s prisons into reformative centers. He apprised that 15 industries were currently operating simultaneously in the province’s prisons, enabling inmates to acquire vocational skills.
He said skilled prisoners were being provided interest-free loans of up to Rs 200,000 under the “Naya Aaghaz Programme” upon their release to help them start a new livelihood.
Dr Qazi highlighted that the Chief Minister’s Literacy Programme had also been launched for around 30,000 illiterate prisoners in Punjab. He added that prisoners who passed a post-training literacy test were being granted a 30-day remission from their sentences.
The secretary informed the delegation that the Punjab government had introduced an exemplary community service model for probationers. Under the “Roshan Rasta Programme”, probationers were being provided psychological support and assistance to help them move away from criminal activities, with more than 40,000 probationers currently undergoing rehabilitation training in the province.
He further noted that 69,000 registered Imams across Punjab were being provided monthly honorariums and were playing an important role in the government’s social reform initiatives.
Speaking on the occasion, Timothy Lockwood appreciated Punjab’s prison reform model and said probation and parole officers from the province had made Pakistan proud through their performance during training in the United States.
He announced that more probation and prison officers would be provided training in the US according to international standards. He added that master trainers trained in the United States would subsequently train all probation, parole, and prison officers in Punjab.
Later, the US delegation visited the Digital Media and Public Outreach Cell of the Home Department, where it was briefed on efforts to monitor and counter harmful online content.
The delegates also took a keen interest in the products manufactured by prisoners that were displayed at the Home Department.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Home Secretary presented commemorative souvenirs to the delegation and gifted the members honorary caps of the Punjab Civil Defence Resilience Corps.
Inspector General Prisons Mian Salik Jalal, Probation and Parole Director General Shahid Iqbal, Additional Secretary Prisons Roman Borana, Additional Secretary Police Kanwar Anwar Ali Khan, Additional Secretary Internal Security Jaweria Maqbool, and Additional Secretary Judicial Abdul Rauf were also present.
