Pakistan: Punjab to let go 20,000 prisoners amid COVID 19 scare
Islamabad/IBNS: Amid Covid 19 spread fear, authorities in Pakistan's Punjab region has decided to let go almost 20,000 of its 46,000 prisoners, media reports said.
Punjab has decided to let go almost 20,000 of its 46,000 prisoners amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus crisis, sources at the interior ministry informed Geo News on Friday, as jails in Pakistan remain overcrowded.
Jail superintendents — who have reached out to the courts to approve the bail of prisoners handed sentences of seven years or less — took this step in light of special instructions, the sources told Geo News.
Bail requests were also filed for prisoners jailed for petty crimes, as well as the elderly, or criminals over 60 years of age, the sources added. Further, those with sentences ranging from seven years to 25 were being determined on a case-by-case basis, reported the news channel.
Meanwhile, COVID 19 infection cases have reached 1373 in Pakistan.
The country has recorded 11 deaths so far.
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