Charity organisations and philanthropists have paid millions of rupees to free some 300 poor prisoners, who had completed their sentences but were unable to pay their fines.
Jail officials said that this gesture brought instant relief to hundreds of families and individuals across Sindh who were otherwise unable to come out of jails due to poverty and lack of resources.
They added that those released were not hardened criminals but were in jail for domestic issues or involvement in petty crimes and had been properly identified before the payment of fines.
Fawad Sherwani of the Al-Khidmat organisation, the charity wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, which has helped free dozens of such prisoners revealed that the whole process is very detailed as they run complete background checks before they move for the prisoners’ release. He also called for a permanent fund to be set up to help those convicts who are not hardened criminals but land in jail for minor offences.
Meanwhile, 37 other convicts were released after the provincial government paid more than Rs330 million in compensation.
