1,500 prisoners to be shifted to Islamabad Model Jail in first phase: Naqvi

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday said prisoners from Islamabad will be shifted to the new model jail in the capital which is awaiting inauguration by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Talking to media at the newly-built Islamabad Model Jail at H-16, Mr Naqvi, accompanied by State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry, said the jail project had been completed and would be inaugurated within “two to four days” by the prime minister. He said that around 1,500 Islamabad-based prisoners will be shifted to the new facility. Mr Naqvi said there were 3,300 prisoners from Islamabad in Adiala Jail and out of them 1,500 will be shifted to the new prison. He said when the second phase of the Model Jail is completed, the remaining prisoners will also be shifted here.

The minister gave credit to the State Minister Talal Chaudhry and the CDA chairman and his team for the early completion of the jail project. He said that the project was launched in 2009 and construction work was started in 2016. In 2024, the project was lying abandoned with hardly up to 40 to 50pc completion. He said with the efforts of the state minister and the CDA this project has now been completed. The minister also visited various sections of the jail including the 35-bed hospital and kitchen. It is relevant to note here that the jail project faced prolonged delay. It was started by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration with the federal government’s funding. The ICT and the government had authorised the now defunct Public Works Department (PWD) for execution of the project. But work remained either stuck or continued with a slow pace. In 2024, the project was handed over to CDA for execution, which managed the completion of its first phase on a fast track basis. This phase-1…