AC, Television And More: Sharifs Qualify For Class 'B' Cells In Pak Jail

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam spent their first night in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi with “B” class facilities, media reports said today, a day after their arrest. B Class prisoners in Pakistan get better facilities than regular inmates and can even get air-conditioners or television sets at their own expense.

Mr Sharif, 68, and Maryam Nawaz 44, were arrested yesterday after their conviction in a corruption case linked to four luxury flats in London, shortly after their arrival at Lahore airport from London via Abu Dhabi. They were flown to Islamabad on a special aircraft and then were taken to the Adiala Jail in separate armoured personnel carriers escorted by police convoys.

Some reports said the Sharifs could be shifted to a rest-house in the capital that will be declared a “sub-jail”.

According to Pakistani media reports, prisoners who by social status, education or habit of life have been accustomed to a superior mode of living can be considered for Class B treatment. Habitual prisoners can be included in this class by order of the government, The News reported.

Usually A or B class prisoners are educated and give lessons to the uneducated prisoners perhaps in Class C. They do not do hard labour and can be engaged in useful work which is defined as rigorous punishment in their case, reports said.

The room of class A and B prisoners are usually equipped with a cot, one chair, one teapot, one lantern if there is no electric light, a shelf, and necessary washing and sanitary appliances.

The expenses of facilities to prisoners under A or B class such as TV, air-conditioner, fridge, and newspapers are usually paid by prisoners with the permission of jail department, the report added.

Both Mr Sharif and Maryam Nawaz have been sentenced by an accountability court to 10 and 7 years in prison respectively. Mr Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court last year in the Panama Papers case.