Syed Naem Shah, 35, who serves a life-long scholarship at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan ICAP after he topped intermediate exams, is pictured outside his classroom in the Central Prison, Karachi, Pakistan on January 18, 2022. KARACHI, Pakistan -- A Pakistani prisoner serving a life sentence for murder in an overcrowded Karachi prison has won a scholarship for further study after taking one of the highest scores in the city's higher secondary school exams last year.
Syed Naem Shah, 35, scored the highest in the general high school exams among private candidates last year in Pakistan's largest city, winning a scholarship from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan ICAP. What I have achieved while in jail is not possible if one does not have a conviction, he told a public meeting in Central Prison Karachi, built by British in 1899 in the port city of southeastern Pakistan.
The prison, like many others in the country, is notorious for being overcrowded, holding nearly 6,000 inmates in space meant for 2,400. According to Amnesty International, Pakistani prisons are currently at 130% of capacity and are poorly ventilated, with insufficient beds and limited access to medicines, safe water and bathing facilities.
Shah said in a classroom inside the prison grounds that he enjoyed school as a child, but his family could not afford to continue his education. In jail, older inmates who were also taking classes motivated him and helped him prepare for exams.
Shah is one of 1,200 inmates studying at Central Prison Karachi, but his success is unmatched, said Saeed Soomro, deputy superintendent of the prison.
Soomro said his results are a testimony to his success and that he is given the opportunity to study and provide him with books and materials.
In Pakistan, he was sentenced in 2018 to life imprisonment for the shooting and killing of another man in a personal disagreement in 2010. He has six more years left to serve as a prisoner, plus time off for academic achievements, good behaviour and blood donations.
Shah still has to pass an entrance exam in order to take up the scholarship, an ICAP official said, requesting anonymity, because he is not allowed to talk to media.
Students with the top four grades in intermediate exams will get a scholarship of 1 million rupees or about $5,700, regardless of whether they are in jail or outside the ICAP official said.
Shah said it will be very difficult for me to pursue this scholarship from prison, given the technical and specialized subjects he will be pursuing.
Even before his exam success, Shah said he had filed an appeal against his conviction that is pending in a high court in the southern province of Sindh.
I appeal to the president of Pakistan, the prime minister and chief executive of Sindh province to consider my case for remission.