In a significant step towards enhancing legal awareness and legal aid for prison inmates, an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Punjab Prisons, Government of Punjab.
This three-year agreement paves the way for collaboration between students and faculty at the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School (SAHSOL) at LUMS and Punjab Prisons. The primary objective is to deliver paralegal training for inmates, ensuring a profound understanding of their legal rights.
The paralegal training will be meticulously designed by the School’s faculty and students as part of the upcoming Legal Aid Clinics at SAHSOL. Simultaneously, Punjab Prisons will establish a streamlined referral process for cases requiring legal assistance, while the Law students will provide support to inmates on their bail petitions.
The formal signing of the MoU was inaugurated by Dr. Sadaf Aziz, Dean of SAHSOL, and witnessed the detailed presentation of collaboration parameters by Professor Angbeen Atif Mirza and Dr. Qadeer Alam, Additional Inspector General (AIG) Prisons. The esteemed signatories included Mian Farooq Nazir, Inspector General (IG) Prisons, and Dr. Tariq Jadoon, Acting Vice Chancellor and Provost of LUMS.
The event was graced by the presence of Honourable Justice Abid Aziz Shaikh, representing the Lahore High Court, and Dr. Parvez Hassan, Member of the Board of Trustees at LUMS and a Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Tariq Jadoon expressed, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Punjab Prisons, a collaboration that reflects our unwavering commitment to education with tangible real-world outcomes. It is heartening to witness LUMS join hands with Punjab Prisons to offer valuable paralegal training to incarcerated individuals.”
Subsequently, Dr. Qadeer Alam elaborated on the partnership’s potential to yield evidence-based policy proposals aimed at reforming the criminal justice sector. The session was brought to a close by Mr. Mian Farooq Nazir, Inspector General of Prisons, who outlined the ongoing efforts of Punjab Prisons in its journey towards a more reformative justice system.