ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has directed authorities to complete the first phase of Islamabad’s under-construction model jail in Sector H-16 within the year 2025. This phase will have the capacity to accommodate 1,500 prisoners.
During a visit to the construction site, Naqvi reviewed the progress and inspected various parts of the facility. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry also accompanied him. The interior minister instructed that the work must continue day and night to meet the deadline.
He also ordered the construction of two additional barracks within 90 days and called for early completion of a 34-bed hospital and the main kitchen inside the jail. He asked the DIG Islamabad Police to present a staffing plan for the new jail.
Officials briefed the minister that the jail project was initially launched in 2011 but remained stalled for several years. Also present at the site were the Federal Interior Secretary, DIG Islamabad Police, Deputy Commissioner, ADCG, CDA officials, contractors, and consultants.
Currently, Islamabad does not have its own jail, and all suspects and convicts are sent to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Every day, hundreds of prisoners are transported to Islamabad courts, leading to additional expenses and serious security concerns, especially with high-risk prisoners.
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CDA officials said that when Islamabad was established in the 1960s, a jail was not considered necessary — perhaps due to the proximity of Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. However, with rising crime and a growing number of convicts in the capital, the government decided in 2009 to build a jail in Islamabad.
The responsibility for the model jail project was handed over to CDA through the district administration, with an initial completion target of 2019, which has still not been met.
