More than 3,163 children are languishing in 86 prisons of the country and are facing harsh and inhuman attitude of the jail administrations having negative impacts on their mentality and main cause to ruin their future. Punjab, being a bigger province in population, has a tigers share in juvenile inmates. More than 2,137 children are detained in 29 prisons of the province. In spite of tall claims of the provincial government about jail reforms no positive signs were seen in the attitude of the jail officials.
A certain rise in juvenile crimes was witnessed in Punjab, which has reached to an alarming point. It is being expected from the provincial government to look into the matter seriously and measures should be taken to change the behaviour of children to make them a useful element of the society.
It is unfortunate to state that the attitude of the jail administration towards prisoners in general and juvenile inmates in particular could only produce a lot of criminals.
Different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the plight of the inmates have raised their voice and appealed to Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to take serious note of the plight of the children languishing in prisons.
Executive Director of Global Foundation, an NGO working for welfare of prisoners, Ulfat Kazmi in a recent report, gave details of the children, caught in juvenile crimes in different jails of Pakistan. He said that out of total 3,163 juvenile inmates 2,137 were in 29 jails of Punjab, while 483 in 16 jails of Sindh, 87 in 10 jails of Balochistan and 456 in 21 jails of the NWFP. He said that those inmates were from the age of 11 years to 20 years.
Kazmi said that 562 out of total 2,137 in Punjab were facing murder charges, 184 murderer attack, 142 theft, 59 attempt to murder, 175 dacoities, 15 for creating law and order problems, 162 Zina Ordinance, 221 smuggling, 123 illicit arms, 46 kidnapping, 173 firing by lethal weapons, 32 fraud and cheating, 132 sodomy, four foreign act, two Railway act, three loafing, 59 for selling stolen commodities and 43 other offences.
He said that all those children were waiting for their fate but their cases were not being given any special consideration, adding that 18 young girls, including two facing murder charges, were still waiting for their fate.
"The jail reforms of the chief minister will definitely change the atmosphere but there should be consideration for implementation. If the attitude of the jail administration was not changed there will be no yield of the reforms", Kazmi said.