Reforming Pakistan’s Broken Prison System/Arsal Mir

The National Conference on Prison Reforms offered a rare and encouraging display of political consensus. The chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan came together on a common platform to endorse the Islamabad Declaration on Prison Reforms, signalling a shared recognition that Pakistan’s prison system is in urgent need of change. In a political environment often defined by confrontation, such cooperation deserves acknowledgment. Whether it marks the beginning of meaningful reform, however, will depend entirely on what follows.

The declaration outlines several long-overdue commitments. The provincial governments have pledged to reduce unnecessary incarceration by expanding access to bail, legal aid and alternatives to imprisonment such as probation and parole, particularly for women, children and individuals detained for minor, poverty-related offences. They have also promised to review prison laws to ensure greater compliance with constitutional guarantees and international human rights standards while improving healthcare, sanitation and safeguards against torture within correctional facilities. These are sensible and necessary objectives that align with recommendations repeatedly made by legal experts, human rights organisations and judicial commissions.

Yet Pakistan has no shortage of well-written reform plans. The country has witnessed numerous commissions, reports and policy announcements that identified the same structural weaknesses but failed to produce lasting change. Overcrowded prisons, prolonged pretrial detention, poor medical care, inadequate legal representation and custodial violence remain persistent features of the penal system. Without sustained political commitment, adequate funding, institutional accountability and measurable implementation timelines, the Islamabad Declaration risks becoming another document that generates headlines but little progress.

The discussion surrounding prison reform also revealed an important contradiction. Several political leaders framed their support for reform through references to their own experiences or those of prominent political figures. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz spoke of how imprisonment had changed her personally, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur highlighted the incarceration of PTI founder Imran Khan and called for reforms beginning at Adiala Jail. While such experiences may shape political perspectives, they do not necessarily reflect the daily reality faced by the overwhelming majority of Pakistan’s prison population.

Most prisoners are not influential politicians with national visibility or legal resources. They are ordinary citizens, many detained for years while awaiting trial because they cannot afford bail or effective legal representation. Others remain imprisoned for minor offences linked to poverty, while vulnerable groups often endure overcrowded facilities lacking adequate healthcare, sanitation and basic human dignity. Their experiences rarely command political attention, despite constituting the true face of Pakistan’s prison crisis.

The deeper problem extends beyond prison administration itself. Pakistan’s penal system remains heavily influenced by colonial-era institutions designed to maintain control rather than uphold justice, rehabilitation or human rights. As the federal law minister rightly observed, many aspects of the system continue to reflect outdated notions of authority and punishment. In practice, access to justice frequently depends on social status, wealth and political influence. Those with power often navigate the legal system differently from those without it, while the poor, marginalised and unrepresented bear the harshest consequences.

Meaningful prison reform therefore requires more than improving prison infrastructure or revising administrative rules. It demands a broader transformation in how the state understands justice and exercises authority. Reducing arbitrary detention, strengthening legal aid, accelerating judicial processes and ensuring equal treatment before the law are as important as improving prison conditions themselves. Rehabilitation, rather than punishment alone, must become a central objective of the correctional system if prisons are to contribute to public safety and social reintegration.

Public accountability will also be essential. Governments should establish clear implementation timelines, independent monitoring mechanisms and regular public reporting on progress. Civil society organisations, bar associations, human rights commissions and judicial oversight bodies should be actively involved in evaluating whether promised reforms are translating into measurable improvements for prisoners across the country.

The Islamabad Declaration provides an opportunity to begin correcting decades of neglect within Pakistan’s prison system. But declarations alone cannot dismantle entrenched inequalities. Genuine reform will require political leaders to recognise that justice must serve every citizen equally, regardless of wealth, influence or political affiliation. Until that principle is consistently reflected in both law and practice, Pakistan’s prisons will remain symbols not only of institutional failure but also of the broader inequalities embedded within the country’s justice system.