Horrendous juvenile justice system in Baluchistan

The state of juvenile rights is touching the worst edge of irritation and aggravation in Balochistan . No doubt, the resources and efforts put in to address the essential problems of the society are far from satisfaction.

Balochistan jails presented a horrendous picture of child abuse, with a provincial lawmaker claiming that almost all the juvenile prisoners are subjected to sexual assault and forced to use drugs.

The issue of child protection was raised in the Balochistan Assembly by lawmaker Yasmin Lehri through a call attention notice. She pointed out the Balochistan Child Protection Act was enacted in November 2016 but the Social Welfare Department had not notified the legislation. The law of Juvenile Justice System (JJS) legislated in 2000 in Balochistan is tangibly concentrated on the rights of juvenile prisoners and stresses to keep underage offenders into Borstal Institute rather than keeping them in jails with serious lawbreakers.

Speaking on the issue, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran claimed that 99% of the juvenile prisoners in Balochistan suffer sexual assault and turn out to be drug addicts by the time they complete their sentences. Khetran said there was no separate jail for the juvenile prisoners in the province and there was no monitoring at the jails. “Over 4,000 juvenile prisoners are kept in different jails in violation of the existing laws,” he said. “They come out as drug addicts, when released from jails.”

 A major child abuse scandal surfaced in 2015 when a massive child abuse and extortion scandal in Hussain Khanwala village of Kasur district came to light.

Initial investigation into the scandal, termed to be the country’s biggest in the history, revealed around 400 videos of 280 victims over the last 10 years by an organised gang of over 25 criminals in Hussain Khanwala village.

The experts depict more appalling scenario of the situation as juveniles’ rehabilitation process is severely hampered in jails as they are persuaded by dangerous criminals towards more serious crimes.

How much naturally rich is Balochistan , but how poorly its affairs are managed.