LAHORE: Punjab’s prison inspections are moving off the clipboard and onto the screen. A modern online portal and an Executive Monitoring Dashboard have been introduced to ensure effective inspection, monitoring and oversight of administrative affairs across prisons in the province, in line with the Chief Minister Punjab’s Prison Reforms Agenda.
According to an official statement issued on Wednesday, Secretary Home Punjab Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi reviewed the newly developed portal and directed the Directorate of Monitoring and senior prison officers to conduct prison inspections and monitoring through the online system instead of conventional procedures.
Real-time information regarding prison security, administration, the status of prisoners, and compliance with prison laws, rules and regulations is available on the portal, the statement said.
The dashboard also provides online details of every prison in Punjab, including its authorised capacity, current inmate population, and the number of prisoners admitted and released on a daily basis. Information regarding each prisoner’s age, educational qualifications, health status, and capacity and aptitude for learning vocational skills, along with other relevant details, is also available on the monitoring dashboard.
The Secretary Home reviewed inspection reports of prisons across Punjab through the dashboard during the session.
The capacity-versus-population field is not a cosmetic addition. Punjab operates one of Pakistan’s largest correctional systems, comprising 45 prisons, and officials have acknowledged that the province’s prison capacity — raised from 30,000 to about 39,000 — still falls well short of a population that fluctuates between roughly 68,000 and 79,000 inmates. Undertrial prisoners account for around 73 per cent of that total.
Capacity is projected to be expanded further to 43,718 by 2027 through new barracks and jails. Against that backdrop, a daily admissions-and-releases feed gives the Home Department a live pressure gauge on individual facilities rather than a retrospective one.
Dr. Qazi also reviewed the online portal of the Chief Minister Punjab Prison Welfare Stores and observed prisoners’ interest and purchasing patterns.
He stated that prisoners in jails across Punjab can now purchase 74 essential items transparently from within the prison premises, adding that complete details of every prisoner’s purchases, including the items bought and their prices, are available on the online portal.
Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary Home said Punjab’s prisons are being transformed into model correctional and rehabilitation centres, and that the Punjab Prisons Department will be presented as a model of excellence and best practice for the entire region.
He said an effective system of internal accountability is being strengthened within the Prisons Department, while the Punjab Home Department is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy against inefficiency and corruption.
Dr. Qazi further stated that contact numbers of the Secretary Home and the Inspector General of Prisons have been displayed outside each prison in Punjab, enabling citizens to directly contact the relevant authorities and ensuring the prompt redressal of public complaints. Integrating the prison inspection and monitoring system with modern technology, he said, is aimed at further ensuring transparency, effective oversight and accountability.
He appreciated the Punjab Prisons Department and the Punjab Prisons Foundation team for developing the modern monitoring system and dashboard, and directed the Directorate of Monitoring and the concerned DIG Prisons to align their inspection and monitoring mechanisms with the modern technological tools available.
The portal joins a series of technology-led measures rolled out in Punjab’s jails over the past two years, including emergency call and panic buttons in cells, an online appointment facility for jail visits, and audio and video calling services for inmates.
The meeting was attended by Inspector General of Prisons Mian Salik Jalal, Director General Directorate of Monitoring Athar Masood, Additional Secretary Prisons Rooman Burana, Additional DG Punjab Forensic Science Authority Imran Ali, DIG Prisons Naveed Rauf, Additional Director Colonel Jamal, Additional Director Asadullah and other relevant officials.
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