Following a new blood test, at least 16 detainees of Peshawar Central Jail tested positive for HIV (human immunodeficiency viruses), raising the possibility that some of them may die in the already “overcrowded and outdated” prisons.
Superintendent Muhammad Waseem Khan of the Peshawar Central Jail told Geo News that following blood testing, more than a dozen inmates tested positive for HIV. Furthermore, he asserted that the impacted convicts were segregated “drug addicts” who were impacted by the incident.
“There are currently 3,400 prisoners present at the central jail,” the senior official continued. He said that medical care and counseling sessions were being provided to the prisoners who tested positive for HIV.
Numerous assessments carried out by human rights and prisoner welfare organizations brought attention to the issue of overcrowding, inadequate healthcare facilities, and antiquated bail laws, resulting in creating grave risks of spreading diseases and deaths in Pakistani jails.
