All the 30 jails in Punjab are overcrowded, forcing the prisoners to live in miserable conditions. According to jail department sources, the total number of inmates in all the jails of the province is 52,431 against the authorised accommodation capacity of 17,637 prisoners. Of these as many as 34,920 are under trails, 11,703 convicts and 5,808 condemned prisoners.

The most overcrowded jail of the province is the Central Jail Rawalpindi where against the authorised accommodation capacity of 1,894 inmates, 5,191 prisoners, including 159 females have been lodged. Inmates of the jail include 1,333 convicts, including 15 women, 3,271 under trials, including 144 females, and 428 condemned prisoners.

Central Jail Sahiwal is the second overcrowded jail where against the authorised capacity of 1,184 prisoners, 4,078 inmates, including 817 convicts, 2,740 under trials, including 77 women, and 441 condemned prisoners have been lodged.

Another overcrowded jail is District Jail Muzaffargarh where there are 891 inmates against the authorised capacity of 87 prisoners followed by District Jail Sheikhupura where 1,976 persons are imprisoned against its capacity for 322 prisoners, while Central Jail Gujranwala is accommodating 3,373 prisoners against its authorised capacity of 560 inmates.