Juvenile detention

Surely, there is a system failure when law-enforcement officers present an eight-year-old child in court in handcuffs for a petty theft offence. Now, if the boy was unruly, the use of restraints may be plausible. However, it is dubious that officials would have first given the boy a chance before resorting to inhumane methods. The system failure begins with the fact that this child was a minor and yet reprimanded for selling fuel illegally. Although illegal fuel sales are a lucrative business, one wonders how a young child became involved in such a trade. The case certainly should be investigated as there might be a dangerous master behind the act as has been the case in previous incidents, but juvenile courts should be utilised for minors and the use of handcuffs and shackles should be justified. If there is unnecessary use of force by law-enforcement agents, they must be held accountable and penalised for their abuse of power.

Children, like adults, need to be taught lessons for transgression of rules but perhaps through different techniques. The Pakistan Penal Code says criminal responsibility falls on anyone above seven years of age, which should be reconsidered; the onus must fall on parents for their children’s actions as well. Parental neglect is not taken seriously enough in this country, and perhaps revising the rules to force parents to take more responsibility would reduce the problem. Nonetheless, the crux of this argument is that law-enforcement officials must not be allowed to mistreat children. Reports of child abuse by police officers have come to light many times and therefore, incidents such as these need not be taken lightly. A juvenile justice system should be enhanced to hold minors, of an age where they have reasonable judgment, responsible for criminal wrongdoing. However, this too, must be designed in a humane and just manner. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2017.

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