The second important reason for torture is simply financial extortion. Everything is for sale
- from the simple act of loosening fetters to the provision of facilities in jail. Organized
corruption supports torture. Those with money and influence can pay their way out of
torture. They can pay for a little extra fresh air, greater movement across the barracks and
the use of cell phones and even the provision of drugs.
An NCHR inspection of Lahore District Jail revealed that of the 3800
inmates at the jail, some 900 were still drug addicts. At Adiala Jail some
1404 inmates were drug addicts. How the drugs were procured is
another issue that needs to be investigated.
Most of the victims of this penal system are those who belong to economically and socially
marginalized segments of the society. They do not have the means to access the courts
nor has the State fulfilled its constitutional obligation in ensuring that each citizen receives
'inexpensive and expeditious' justice mandated under Article 37(d) of the Constitution. The
prisoners complain against the present administration of justice system in which their trials
and appeals are pending adjudication for several years. This long delay, according to them,
is in violation of their fundamental rights. Several prisoners informed about their
helplessness in accessing the courts as their challans were not being submitted in a timely
manner before the courts.
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