LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is said to have arranged Rs38.2 million through donations from affluent people to pay fine and diyat for 657 poor prisoners and release them before Eid.

The process of releasing the prisoners, after paying fine and diyat, has begun and so far 514 prisoners have been released. The remaining 143 will be freed before Eid.

The chief minister said the Punjab government was working for the welfare of prisoners along with other segments of society. He said he had personally visited prisons across Punjab in order to assess the actual situation so that welfare steps could be taken according to ground realities.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2019