Pakistan, July 6 -- Punjab is undertaking one of the country's comprehensive prison reform programmes, seeking to transform correctional facilities from overcrowded places of detention into institutions that emphasize rehabilitation, education, healthcare and human dignity alongside security. Through investment in infrastructure, administrative reforms and technological innovation, the provincial government is pursuing a correctional model that aims not only to enforce the law but also to prepare prisoners for successful reintegration into society.

The reforms come as Punjab's prisons continue to face severe overcrowding. The prison population fluctuates between 68,000 and 79,000 inmates. Nearly 73 percent of prisoners are undertrial det...