Prisoners can make 80-minute phone call to families every week

The Punjab government on Thursday issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the use of Public Call Office facilities for prisoners.

The development will ensure controlled communication access of prisoners to their families and legal counsel.

As per the newly implemented SOPs, the prisoners will be permitted to use PCO services six days a week – Monday to Saturday, between 8am and 5pm.

They can contact immediate family members, spouses, and legal counsel only using the service.

Each prisoner is allowed a maximum of 80 minutes of call time every week.

In this connection, special arrangements have been made for women, juvenile, and death-row inmates as PCO booths set up within their respective barracks.

The initiative will provide the prisoners with a structured means of maintaining essential communication while ensuring security protocols are upheld.