Adiala Jail Inmates Complain of Food Restrictions and High Prices for Basic Items
Prisoners brought to court from Central Jail Adiala say home food items have been banned, packaged milk and juice are sold at triple the market price, and children of women inmates go unfed.
Inmates brought daily from Central Jail Adiala to the Judicial Complex and District Courts for hearings have raised concerns about what they describe as a steady reduction in facilities available to them inside the prison, according to complaints reported by local media.
The prisoners said authorities have now restricted the items they are allowed to bring from home, including tomatoes, spices, rice, lentils, packaged milk and juices. They said the curry served in the jail consists almost entirely of watery gravy with two small potatoes and a bowl of bland broth, and that they had previously relied on tomatoes and spices from home to make the food palatable.
Inmates further claimed that packaged milk and juices sold inside the jail are priced at roughly three times the market rate and that no change is returned after payment. They said they had earlier been able to obtain such items, along with tomatoes, from their families, but that this arrangement has now been discontinued.
Additional complaints centred on women prisoners who are accompanied by one or two young children. According to the inmates, no food is provided for the children and the mother receives only a single piece of bread, leaving her either hungry or forced to ask better-off female prisoners for part of their ration.
Relatives of the prisoners, including Riaz Ali, Faisal Khan and Azhar Ali, called on the authorities to improve conditions for inmates and to restore the facilities that families say were previously available.
The complaints add to wider questions about living standards and access to basic provisions in Pakistan's prisons. No official response from the jail administration was immediately available regarding the specific allegations.
