Islamabad Model Jail Set for October Opening After 15-Year Delay

ISLAMABAD: The long-delayed Islamabad Model Jail is moving toward inauguration next month after senior officials reviewed the remaining construction and administrative work required to bring the facility into operation. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi directed authorities to complete outstanding tasks before the opening and said there should be no further unnecessary delay in a project that has remained unfinished for about 15 years.

Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry chaired a meeting focused on construction progress, administrative preparations and arrangements for the planned inauguration. Officials from several federal institutions attended, including representatives of the Federal Investigation Agency, Islamabad Police, the federal prosecution system and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency. Naqvi instructed the departments involved to coordinate closely and finish their assigned work within the required timeframe.

Talal Chaudhry said progress on the project was being monitored continuously and maintained that the remaining work would be completed according to schedule. Authorities have not publicly announced an exact inauguration date, but the latest decision places the expected opening in October, provided construction and operational preparations are completed as planned.

The prison project in Islamabad's H-16 sector has faced repeated delays over many years. Earlier official briefings this year said Phase One had reached more than 85 percent completion and included enhanced security arrangements such as dual security walls, digital monitoring systems and a central control room. Authorities had also accelerated work on barracks and other sections in an effort to make the facility functional.

A later progress review in June showed that the administrative block had entered its final construction stage, two barracks had been completed and a third was about 95 percent finished. Officials also reported completion of sanitary and electrical installations in the barracks, along with the jail hospital, watchtowers and sentry posts, while work continued on water supply, drainage, sewerage and related infrastructure.

The project is significant because Islamabad has long lacked its own fully operational dedicated prison and has relied on facilities outside the federal capital, particularly Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, for many detainees and prisoners connected with Islamabad cases. Previous planning documents and government reviews show that construction schedules have repeatedly slipped as the project underwent design, funding and implementation changes.

Previous court and administrative discussions also highlighted the need to complete staffing and operational arrangements alongside physical construction. Earlier this year, judicial authorities had called for the project to be completed so that the process of transferring eligible Islamabad prisoners from Adiala Jail could begin. That timeline was not achieved, underscoring the importance of the new inauguration target.

The immediate focus is now on finishing the remaining construction, completing administrative preparations and ensuring coordination among the agencies that will support the prison's operations. If the latest timetable holds, the opening would mark the culmination of one of Islamabad's longest-running public infrastructure projects and give the federal capital a dedicated prison facility after years of delays.