LAHORE - The Punjab government has increased the salaries by revising and upgrading the pay scales of the Prison Departments officials thus accepting their longstanding demand, said an official of Camp Jail Lahore on Friday. He said decision sent a wave of jubilation among the prisons department staff who were pressing the demand for the last several years. Sweets were distributed and special prayers for the long life of Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif were offered after the Friday prayers at the both of the prisons of the City, Kot Lakhpat Jail and Camp Jail, said an assistant superintendent Jail deputed at Kot Lakhpat. As per the decision, the officers of the Prison Department have been upgraded and given one scale promotion from the Assistant Superintendent to the Inspector General Prisons. In the past, assistant superintendents were serving in Pay Scale-14 but now they have awarded 16. Similarly, the deputy superintendents, previously placed in Grade-16, are upgraded to the next scale. The same is the case with superintendents of the district jail who are promoted from Grade-17 to 18, superintendent Central Jail from 18 to 19, deputy inspector general from 19 to 20 along with the IG in Grade-21 from his who was earlier serving in Grade-20. However, the lower grade employees has only been given increase in their salaries with no up gradation of their pay scales; whereas the move has benefited the officers most as they are awarded both the salary raise and up-gradation of their pay scales. Sources say basic salaries of employees and officers have been doubled. Menawhile, Superintendent Kot Lakhpat Jail Malik Mushtaq Awan, Deputy Superintendent Ch Shabraiz, Assistant Superintendent Ali Akbar and Superintendent Camp Jail Gulzar Butt along with Assistant Superintendent Rana Latif have thanked Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif, chief secretary, Home secretary and IG Prison for accepting the demands of the jail staff from across the province. They said the decision would encourage the staff to work diligently.