Punjab Govt. turns down US Consulate's request to remove cameras from Davis' jail cell

Lahore, Feb 26(ANI): The government of Pakistan's Punjab province has said it will not remove surveillance cameras from the high security cell where double murder-accused US national Raymond Davis has been detained.

The US Consulate in Lahore had earlier made a verbal request to remove the cameras from Davis' prison cell, The Express Tribune reports.

Following the refusal by the Punjab government, the US consulate expressed its displeasure over non-cooperation by the government in this regard, a home department official said on the condition of anonymity.

Davis is being kept at the Central Jail Kot Lakhpat in Lahore. On the instructions of the Home Department, the jail department has installed surveillance cameras in all high security cells, and special security guards have also been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Earlier, inmates of a defunct organisation had been confined to 22 cells at the same prison, but they were shifted to various other jails for security reasons. Currently, 21 cells of the prison are empty.

Davis reportedly has access to a refrigerator, mobile phone and an antenna used for satellite communication, which is a violation of the Punjab Prisons Rules of 2010.

Mobile phone use has been declared a crime by the Home Department, but in Davis' case it was provided without authorisation, a jail department official said. (ANI)