Pakistan prison remission system favors Muslim inmates, with minority prisoners largely excluded despite legal reforms allowing equal benefits.
Newsroom (24/04/2026 Gaudium Press )Pakistan’s sentence-remission system, which links reductions in prison terms to religious education, is facing growing scrutiny amid allegations that it disproportionately benefits Muslim inmates while effectively excluding religious minorities, despite existing legal provisions designed to ensure parity.
Concerns over the disparity were highlighted during a seminar titled “Remissions for Minority Prisoners,” held in Lahore on April 22. Speakers at the event cited official prison data revealing a stark imbalance in the application of remission policies across religious lines.
According to figures compiled by the Lahore-based Center for Social Justice (CSJ), between 2022 and 2024, Punjab authorities granted sentence remissions to 1,653 Muslim prisoners for Quranic study. In the same period, no minority inmate received comparable relief. A similar pattern emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 284 Muslim prisoners benefited from remission between 2023 and 2025, with no recorded cases involving minority prisoners.
“Minority inclusion exists in the rules but remains weak in practice,” said Yassar Talib, project coordinator at CSJ. He pointed to both legal and policy gaps, as well as systemic failures in implementation, and called for comprehensive institutional reforms.
The current framework traces back to a 2008 amendment to the Pakistan Prison Rules, which formally expanded remission eligibility to include non-Muslim prisoners through the study of their own sacred texts. In theory, this provision places minority inmates on equal footing with their Muslim counterparts.
In a further step, Punjab’s Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department approved a Bible-based syllabus in 2023. The curriculum, divided into five units, allows prisoners to earn remission ranging from 15 to 60 days per unit over a five-year period, totaling up to 180 days.
The Faisalabad-based Pakistan Bible Correspondence School (PBCS) developed the curriculum in consultation with major Christian institutions, including the Catholic Church, the Church of Pakistan, Presbyterian churches, and the Salvation Army. Reverend Aftab Anjum, executive secretary of PBCS, said the Urdu-language courses were designed to be accessible, using objective questions and fill-in-the-blank exercises tailored for prison settings.
However, implementation remains uncertain. Discussions with prison authorities regarding the appointment of instructors are still ongoing, raising questions about when or whether the program will become operational.
Arthur Wilson, a Christian prison ministry worker and head of the rights group Redemption Pakistan, highlighted additional barriers facing minority inmates, particularly low literacy rates.
“Several minority prisoners are illiterate and must first receive basic education before pursuing formal or religious studies,” Wilson said. He also noted a broader decline in prison ministry activities across Christian denominations, including the Catholic Church, which has further limited support structures for inmates.
Wilson emphasized the need for greater involvement from civil society organizations specializing in education, arguing that such groups should be permitted to assist prisoners in overcoming foundational learning challenges.
Despite the existence of policies aimed at inclusion, activists warn that without concrete mechanisms for implementation, the reforms risk remaining largely symbolic. Talib underscored the absence of clear procedures for appointing religious instructors and pointed to a lack of parity with remission granted during Ramadan for regular prayers and fasting.
“There is a risk that this policy remains symbolic,” he said.
CSJ has put forward several recommendations, including shortening the duration of religious courses, appointing qualified instructors, ensuring equal remission opportunities tied to religious observance, and publishing prison data disaggregated by religion to improve transparency.
The scale of the issue is underscored by prison demographics. According to the Journal of Asian Development Studies, as of March 2025, 1,588 minority prisoners were held across 45 prisons in Punjab. Of these, 1,315 were under trial, 232 were convicted, 34 were unconfirmed condemned prisoners, and seven were on death row.
More recent data from the Punjab Inspectorate of Prisons, updated to April this year, recorded 1,075 minority prisoners, including 1,034 Christians, 38 Hindus, and three Sikhs.
At the time of publication, Punjab’s Assistant Inspector General of Prisons, Muhammad Qadeer Alam, had not responded to requests for comment.
The data and testimonies presented at the Lahore seminar suggest that while legal frameworks for inclusion exist, their uneven implementation continues to leave minority prisoners without access to benefits routinely extended to others, raising broader concerns about equity and religious discrimination within Pakistan’s penal system.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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