Lahore: The Central Prison Rawalpindi, commonly known as Adiala Jail, has reported a massive outbreak of HIV cases positive, with 148 infected inmates, the highest number recorded in any prison in the province so far.
This alarming situation has exposed serious lapses by the Prison Department and the Punjab AIDS Control Program (PACP).
Adiala has been in the headlines lately, since former Prime Minister Imran Khan is also imprisoned there. However, it should be taken into account that Mr. Khan is maintained in isolation and cannot be mixed with other inmates.
The prison is also very crowded, which houses 4,337 prisoners against their authorized capacity of 1,994.
The PACP report reveals that there are 645 people infected with the 43 Punjab prisons; Some of them are already receiving antiretroviral therapy
The presence of such a large amount of HIV -infected prisoners has a serious risk to the health and life of other inmates if immediate measures are not taken to stop the transmission of the virus.
Medical experts explain that HIV attacks the body’s immune system and remains incurable.
“Once the infection contracts, your body cannot get rid of it. However, there are medications that can control HIV and prevent complications. All those diagnosed with HIV must be placed in antiretroviral therapy (art),” said a medical expert.
They expressed a great concern that if a high profile prison such as Adiala is struggling to contain the rapid propagation of HIV/AIDS, the situation in other prisons could be even worse.
Numbers
The PACP report sheds light on the number of prisoners suffering from HIV/AIDS throughout the province. It reveals that the number of HIV inmate in all 43 Punjab prisons has reached 645, with the largest number of cases that are informed from the Adiala prison, where 148 inmates have tested positive for HIV.
According to official figures, 83 inmates were positive for HIV/AIDS in the Lahore district prison (also known as the Camp jail), followed by 37 in the Central prison Faisalabad, and 27 each in the central jail Lahore (also known as Kot Lakhpat prison) and the prison of the Gujranwala prison center.
In the remaining 38 prisons of Punjab, the combined number of HIV positive inmates is in 323. An official year of development said that several HIV inmates face an interruption in the provision of medicines in prisons.
According to the PACP protocols, after the detection process, the prison authorities change to the alleged HIV patient to the art center of the district in question, where the internal is subjected to additional evidence to confirm the diagnosis.
Repeat the tests using elaborate methods, and after the confirmation that the inmate has positive, it returns to prison, where the program provides them with medications for a period of three months.
PACP teams normally visit prisons and make the projection of all inmates every six months or so.
Alarming situation
The HIV/AIDS outbreak in Punjab prisons, particularly in Adiala, has caused alarm among PACP authorities.
This was evident from an official correspondence, in which PACP’s head immediately activated all the art centers established under the program.
“All art centers will make biweekly visits to prisons within their respective districts to determine the total number of HIV positive patients recorded from the prison and the number of those who currently receive antiretroviral therapy,” says a letter issued by the director of the PACP project, Dr. Sumaira Ashraf.
She emphasized that the centers must ensure that all registered jail patients continue to receive treatment without interruption and any gap, deficiencies or challenges observed during the visit should be clearly identified and informed.
Talk with SunriseThe Punjab Inspector (prisons) Mian Farooq Nazeer said that the PACP had been responsible for evaluating all new inmates for various diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B and C, a couple of years ago.
Following the guidelines, the program was to provide kits in the health centers of each prison where the prisoners were evaluated by chronic diseases, and added that prison doctors would perform tests in patients under the program patterns. However, he argued that his department had nothing to do with the projection of inmates who enter or leave prisons.
Posted in Dawn, August 30, 2025
