Kidnapped

When it comes to experiencing various types of trauma, children in Pakistan might be in the lead. Apart from the war scenes coming out of operations in the north of the country, or terrorist attacks such as the one we will be remembering in a few days at APS Peshawar, we have the ongoing crime and violence alongside the trauma caused by lawlessness in civil matters such as traffic laws and reckless driving. Most recently, a five-year-old was forced from his mother at gunpoint while riding home from school — something he had done routinely since the beginning of the year. Although police claim to have killed the suspects, there is a host of other questions we have as news of another kidnapping, this time an infant in Lahore, has arisen.

Though the family of the kidnapped may be more at peace knowing the same offenders cannot take their son away, due process of law is missed, which is a regular feature of our law and order system. The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee faces a heavy load due to the frequency of crime. Hence, it would be helpful to avail intelligence resources considering the incidence of crime, then employ due process of law.

It is not that kidnappings are new or nonexistent elsewhere in the world. Our proximity to such tragedies is the worrisome factor as there is currently no safe haven or law enforcement body that can protect citizens against the crime. Children are often handed over under the care of various staff or sent off to tutors, which is pertinent to mention because police claim one of the suspects in the Karachi case was a private tutor. For a country that has a guard, driver and domestic help culture in which there is no guarantee or accountability on the part of hired help — partly owed to the strains and limitations NADRA faces — we need to improve the laws for protecting children and taking culprits to task.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2017.

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