Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison - XXI
Faizullah Khan was detained by Afghan authorities in eastern Nangarhar province in April 2014.
Part - 21: (Intriguing account of a Pakistani journalist captured in Afghanistan for interview of Taliban leadership)
Read Part - 20 here: Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison – XX
I had already spent Rs500 with some money used by me to buy soap and shampoo. In a foreign prison I was left with a total of Rs2500 out of which Rs2000 was the rent of the prison cell in which I was residing. This situation was not good at all.
I was still in those dirty clothes which I was wearing while detention. One of the prisoners gave me his turn to take bath. It was a serious problem in the jail to take bath or use the toilet. My block had 250 prisoners for which there were only four toilets and four bathrooms. One of the toilets always remained in damaged condition whereas the other three were extremely filthy and dirty. I had no choice but to use them. Every prisoner had to wait for 20-25 minutes for its turn as there was always a queue of 15-20 prisoners.
After sometime, I pulled out a solution to the issue. I started to take bath every day at four or five in the morning as at that time only those people were awake who either want to offer prayer or those who were having drugs. We usually stayed in our prison cells as specific time was reserved to go out.
I had already spent Rs500 with some money used by me to buy soap and shampoo. In a foreign prison I was left with a total of Rs2500 out of which Rs2000 was the rent of the prison cell in which I was residing. This situation was not good at all.
From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. the prisoners were allowed to sit in the compound during which they can also contact their relatives and visit the canteen for purchases. The inmates were sent back at 11 a.m. and then were again permitted to come out to offer Zuhr. As soon as the prayer was offered all the inmates were hurled back to their cells and were then allowed to sit in the compound between Asr and Maghrib. Attendance was taken immediately after Fajr prayer, at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. however; strict punishment was awarded in case of non-attendance.
It was an interesting thing that when prisoners used to play volley ball after Asr, the block incharge also joined with them in the game. One day a block incharge called me to his office. He told me that he had lived in Pakistan for 20 years and had done garment and carpet business in Peshawar and various cities of Sindh.
He also said to me that he respects Pakistanis to a great deal. He was also willing to provide me the mobile facility in Rs12000 instead of Rs15000.
The prison cell in which I was being kept had inmates more than its capacity alongwith a kitchen. Intense heat was witnessed when the firepan was lit to cook food in the afternoons and evenings.
Fights among the prisoners were part of the routine but it also had a very rough punishment. The block incharge used to hang those involved in fighting on a netted wall while putting both their hands upright and cuffed. They remain hanging in this situation for hours and were thrashed from time to time.
Read the Urdu version here: Five months in Jalalabad prison
