Sialkot tragedy

HRCP calls to revamp system

Staff Report

LAHORE: Describing the Sialkot jail killings as a symptom of the government’s failure, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for urgent steps to revamp such government institutions.

In a statement issued by the HRCP here on Saturday, HRCP Secretary General Hina Jillani said the Sialkot jail incident proved that the state-system had failed. “Everything seems to have gone wrong on the occasion. The sessions judge’s decision to take a large team of subordinate judges on a jail inspection might have been motivated by a desire to offer them useful exposure to prison conditions, but it was apparently not planned with the necessary care,” she said.

Ms Jillani said the nature of the action planned by the killers indicates the oppressive atmosphere in jails. “News reports indicate that negotiations with the hostage-takers lacked both skill and imagination and that the ‘so-called’ commandos were not adequately trained for the job,” she added.

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