An international NGO, based on its recent report on prisons and prisoners in Pakistan, claims that a large number of prisoners escaped in the recent past from the custody of police because of substandard and outdated handcuffs that they were secured with. These indigenous handcuffs are said to be of so low technology that these can simply be unlocked with the help of an ordinary pencil.

Various incidents of last year are mentioned in the report, such as on March 12 and on August 16, one prisoner each of Adiala Jail escaped when brought to Islamabad for court proceedings. Similarly, on October 18, four prisoners in the Islamabad court, on November 3, one in Kahuta court and on December 11, another in Gujar Khan court ran away after unlocking their handcuffs. A batch of 30 prisoners from Karachi jail attempted to escape in the same manner, unsuccessfully though.

It is high time that the police, in particular the Capital Police, imports the latest state-of-the-art handcuffs on priority.

If billions of rupees can be spent on import of luxurious cars, under the garb of safety and security, why can't a small amount be allocated to the police for the same purpose?

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005