KARACHI: Karachi’s colonial-era prison is adorned with murals of rural Pakistani life, painted by convicted murderers and kidnappers locked away from the world but learning their craft inside its walls.
A rehabilitation art and music program has seen some inmates sell their work for several thousand dollars at exhibitions supported by the local arts council, according to prison chiefs.
“Before I was jailed, it was another life with no responsibility and immaturity,” Mohammad Ijaz told AFP from the prison studio.
“But I have found the true meaning of life since being jailed. They have taught us that life is full of colors and the colors themselves speak.”
Ijaz, who declines to give details about his conviction under a penal code covering kidnapping and abduction, says he is about halfway through a 25-year sentence.
Despite being locked up, he has earned huge sums from his art depicting horses — funding his mother’s pilgrimage to Makkah and his sister’s wedding.
“In the beginning, my family didn’t believe me that I had become an artist,” said the 42-year-old, who now teaches other prisoners. “When they saw us in the exhibition, they were happy.”
The art program was launched at Karachi Central Jail in 2007, and aims to reform inmates serving long sentences or those on death row.
Prisoners can also learn languages such as Arabic, English or Chinese, as well as hand embroidery and beadwork.
“Engaging them in constructive pursuits kind of polishes them,” senior prison official Ammad Chandio told AFP. “It helps them reflect upon their past, what crime, what sin or what violation of law they had committed.”
“Any art that is being produced inside the correctional facility, it is actually the property of the inmates, and any proceeds that come from the sale of these products, the property of those inmates.”
Prisons across Pakistan are often dangerously overcrowded with limited access to water, sanitation and food, but central jails in major cities generally receive better funding.
“Efforts to rehabilitate prisoners should be at the fore, the purpose of penal punishments is to help them become better citizens,” said Sarah Belal, executive director of Justice Project Pakistan.
Mehtab Zakir is serving a murder sentence handed down five years ago but his family still depends on him for financial support.
“I know I haven’t wasted time here, at least we have learnt something,” said the 34-year-old. “I feel happy when I finish a painting and it gives me confidence that at least I can do something.”
Pakistani inmates in Karachi sell art, transform lives in prison rehabilitation program
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Pakistani inmates in Karachi sell art, transform lives in prison rehabilitation program
- Prisoners charged with serious offenses say they have learned about the colors of life after being thrown in jail
- The rehabilitation program also provides opportunities to inmates to learn languages like Arabic, English or Chinese
Pakistanis among 44 migrants rescued by aid ship off Libyan coast
- Survivors rescued after days at sea on unseaworthy boat in international waters
- Pakistanis have featured in several deadly Mediterranean migrant disasters in recent years
Crew members of the humanitarian rescue ship Ocean Viking evacuated and provided first aid to 44 migrants stranded aboard a merchant vessel in international waters off the Libyan coast, the NGO SOS Mediterranee said on Monday.
The group, originating mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt, had been rescued earlier from an unseaworthy fiberglass boat and later transferred to the merchant ship before the Ocean Viking intervened, according to the organization.
Libya, about 300 kilometers from Italy, remains one of the main departure points in North Africa for migrants attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing, despite repeated warnings from humanitarian agencies about abuse, exploitation and high fatality rates along the route.
Migrants often depart Libya after months in detention centers or informal holding sites, boarding overcrowded and unsafe vessels operated by smuggling networks. Delays in rescue frequently leave survivors severely weakened, aid groups say.
“These 44 people, they are mainly from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Egypt. They departed reportedly from Benghazi (Libya) some five or six days ago. And they are now safe on board the Ocean Viking, recovering,” Francesco Creazzo, spokesperson for SOS Mediterranee, said.
Creazzo said the migrants were found in severe physical distress when evacuated.
“They were exhausted, coughing of dehydration, extremely weak, some couldn’t walk,” he added.
The Ocean Viking, an ambulance ship operated by SOS Mediterranee, regularly conducts search-and-rescue missions in the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. According to international organizations, thousands of people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean over the past decade while attempting to reach Europe.
The latest rescue comes amid a series of deadly migrant disasters in the Mediterranean in recent years that have involved Pakistani nationals. In June 2023, at least several hundred migrants died when the Adriana, a fishing trawler carrying migrants from Pakistan and other countries, capsized off the coast of Greece in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region in a decade.
Earlier incidents have also seen Pakistani migrants perish in shipwrecks off Italy, Tunisia and Libya, highlighting the persistent risks faced by people attempting irregular sea crossings to Europe. Pakistani authorities have repeatedly urged citizens not to undertake the journey, while international agencies warn that smugglers continue to exploit economic hardship and conflict to lure migrants onto unsafe boats.
