Islamabad is finally about to get its own jail. After a construction saga stretching nearly 15 years, the federal government has decided to inaugurate the Islamabad Model Jail — a project that has outlived deadlines, governments, and several generations of promises.
The decision came at a high-level review meeting on September 24, 2026, chaired jointly by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry. With construction, staffing, and administrative arrangements now in their final stages, the ministers directed that every remaining task be finished without further delay so the facility can open on schedule.
Key Takeaways
- The Islamabad Model Jail is expected to be inaugurated after a 15-year construction delay, with the opening decision taken at a high-level meeting on September 24, 2026.
- Project cost ballooned from Rs 3.7 billion to an estimated Rs 20 billion, and six official deadlines have been missed since construction began in 2011.
- The facility in Sector H-16 will house around 2,000 inmates, easing pressure on Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Why this matters for Islamabad
The federal capital has never had a jail of its own. Every under-trial prisoner, remand accused, and convict booked in Islamabad has been kept at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. That means hundreds of inmates are transported between Rawalpindi and Islamabad’s courts every working day — an expensive, risky, and logistically exhausting exercise for the police and the prison authorities alike.
The Model Jail was meant to fix exactly that problem. Its opening should sharply cut daily prisoner movement between the two cities, reduce the burden on Adiala Jail, and give Islamabad control over its own detention infrastructure.
A 15-year timeline of missed deadlines
Construction on the Model Jail began in 2011. What followed is one of the capital’s longest-running infrastructure sagas:
- 2011 — Project launched; initial estimated cost around Rs 3.7 billion.
- 2017 — Progress still sluggish; project referenced by authorities as a stalled priority.
- 2018 onwards — Development work stalled repeatedly; funding shortfalls cited as the main cause.
- Early 2026 — The Islamabad High Court’s Prison Reforms Committee was told six official completion deadlines had been missed.
- June 30, 2026 — The latest announced deadline, set under IHC directives, was also missed.
- September 24, 2026 — Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi chaired the review meeting that finalized the inauguration plan.
By most official accounts, the delay has now stretched to roughly 15 years since the project was first launched.
The cost ballooned too
The price tag of the delay is stark. Officials have said the project’s estimated cost rose from Rs 3.7 billion at launch to around Rs 20 billion, with the possibility of another Rs 2 billion being added because of rising construction material prices. Six missed deadlines and years of slow progress turned a straightforward construction project into a Rs 20-billion bill.
What the new facility will include
The Model Jail is being built in Sector H-16, adjacent to the motorway, and is designed to house approximately 2,000 inmates. According to officials, the complex includes:
- Modern security systems, completed watchtowers, and sentry posts
- Separate barracks for women and juvenile inmates
- A hospital, a mosque, and a library
- Vocational training centres
- Judicial facilities, so hearings can be conducted on-site
- Residential and administrative buildings for prison staff
- A filtration plant for safe drinking water, sewerage, drainage, and streetlighting infrastructure
CDA officials briefed earlier this year that the administration block had entered its final stage, Barracks No. 1 and No. 2 were completed, Barrack No. 3 was about 95 percent done, and all electrical and sanitary work inside the barracks was finished. A PC-I for a second phase of the project has also been prepared, with work expected to begin in the next fiscal year.
The oversight push behind the final sprint
The final months have seen unusually hands-on oversight. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has been personally monitoring the work and has said he visits the site every week to review the pace of construction. Earlier, the interior minister directed that double shifts be introduced to speed up completion, and the Islamabad High Court has repeatedly pushed the interior and finance secretaries to coordinate on funds and staffing.
Staffing is running in parallel: recruitment, deployment, and training of jail staff have been ordered alongside construction so the facility can receive prisoners soon after inauguration.
What still needs attention
The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works, which inspected the site, raised a pointed concern: the original design did not include adequate dedicated facilities for women inmates and their children. Senators called the exclusion unacceptable, and officials were directed to incorporate women- and child-friendly facilities — including infant care and educational arrangements — rather than deferring them to a second phase.
Whether the inauguration timeline holds will be the real test. The project has a long history of firm government commitments dissolving into new deadlines. This time, though, the construction is visibly in its final stage, the ministers are meeting on it directly, and the courts are watching.
The bottom line
For Islamabad, the Model Jail’s opening is overdue by any measure — roughly 15 years overdue. But if the federal government delivers on the September 24 decision, the capital will finally stop outsourcing its jail to Rawalpindi. Fewer daily prisoner convoys, less pressure on Adiala, and a modern facility built to current correctional standards would be a genuine win for the city’s law-and-order system — one that residents of the twin cities will notice every day.
