United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) jointly handed over formal control and implementation of the Prison Management Information System (PMIS) to the Punjab Prisons Department being held in a special ceremony at Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore. Representative of INL Ms. Lauren A Meelang, Prisons Minister Zawar Hussain Warraich, Additional Chief Secretary Home Momin Ali Agha, IG Prisons Punjab Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig, IG Prisons Sindh Nusrat Hussain Mangan, IG Prisons KPK Masood-ur-Rehman, IG Prisons Balochistan Malik Muhammad Yusaf and IG Prisons AJK/Additional Secretary Home Masood-ur-Rehman were also present during the ceremony. Provincial Prisons Minister Zawar Hussain Warraich welcomed this step and stated that this programme will prove to be an important milestone in bringing administrative reforms and improving functions of prisons department. This step will also link all Punjab prisons with one another. He further said that data of all prisoners will be immediately obtained under this project and will significantly improve effectiveness and capacity of prisons department officials under the head of PMIS. Prisons department will require assistance and support of these organizations in future for further improvement.
Various speakers also expressed their views during the ceremony and said that PITB will introduce PIMS in all Punjab prisons and will play its effective role for implementing this system as well as providing assistance and stability as a technology partner. Earlier, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNODC and INL was signed by IG Prisons Punjab Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig.