KARACHI, SEPT 28: Around 50 juvenile prisoners have been regularly "sexually abused" by adult criminals in a jail in southern Pakistan, authorities said on Wednesday. The children were rescued from the cells of adult criminals in Hyderabad jail, 160 kilometres (100 miles) from here, Brigadier Nisar Mehar, Chief of prisons in southern Sindh province, said."Yes, we have recovered 50 children who have been sexually abused from the barracks of the criminals, and transferred them to a juvenile ward," he said.An inquiry has been ordered into "this cruel practice" in the Hyderabad prison, he said, adding that action would be taken against jail officials on the basis of the inquiry report. "Children's presence in the barracks of criminals was not possible without connivance," of jail officials, he said. He said he had ordered strict checks to ensure that juvenile prisoners remained in their own ward in future. "I don't readily have the exact number of imprisoned children in the juvenile ward but all measures would be taken to prevent such incidents in future," the Brigadier said.The same jail was also in the news three days ago after around 1,000 inmates staged a mutiny there. Prison officials said the action was in retaliation for a raid on the jail after reports that arms and drugs were being smuggled into some prisons in Sindh. Two hundred inmates were moved to other jails in the province.Meanwhile, hundreds of family members of prisoners on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside the Hyderabad jail. Witnesses said they were protesting against the police action and reports that more prisoners may be moved to other prisons. The demonstrators blocked roads, with many forcing the authorities to allow them to meet their relatives inside the prison. "The situation has now returned to normal," a prison official said. The 11-month-old military government "is working on major jail reforms," the Chief of prisons said. A number of jail officials had been suspended in the past few weeks for various lapses, he said. "Appointment of a serving Army officer as head of prisons in Sindh and the search operation of Hyderabad prison was part of the reformative process," he said.Most prisons in Sindh are said to be overcrowded. According to officials there are 2,500 prisoners in Hyderabad jail, more than double its capacity. The Central Prison at Karachi, the provincial capital, houses more than 3,000 prisoners despite a capacity of only 900, the Brigadier said. "These are some of the problems which we have to address and resolve," he said.
