March 3, 2025
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
On February 24, a sessions’ court in Karachi handed down a 14-year prison sentence to four individuals, for possessing over 20 kilogram of hashish, and imposed a fine of Rs400,000 on each. The worrying aspect of the case was that one of them was also a minor.
The accused, identified as Muhammad Saleem, Sikandar, Syed Wali, and Muhammad Ahmed Khan (minor), were arrested by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) near Musharraf Colony.
According to the judgment, Additional District and Sessions Judge (West), Aurangzeb Shah, had found the accused guilty of ‘trafficking a large quantity of narcotics’ and rejected the defense counsel’s argument that the prosecution witnesses were police officials and therefore unreliable.
The accused were charged under Section 6/9 (1) 3 (D) of the Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2022. The case tried in a special Narcotics’ court ordered that if the fine was not paid, the convicts would have to serve an additional six months in prison.
Does the child get the same punishment?
Although the judge has given 14 years imprisonment to the three adults with regression, it has also given the same sentence without regression to the minor. Are prisons in Pakistan actually serving as reform centers, or are they just another ‘crime factory’ for minors who have been imprisoned? More to the point, should a minor be given the same punishment as an adult?
Experts have long been raising their concerns over the lack of implementation of the laws that protect minors in the criminal justice system, called the Juvenile Justice System Act (JJSA). They press upon that all minors in Pakistan must be dealt with under the JJSA and have raised concerns regarding the punishment handed to a minor.
Voicepk spoke to some experts regarding their opinion for juvenile cases and a general overview of laws and their implementation regarding minors.
Pakistan along with 196 other countries has signed a legally binding agreement – the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC). Article 37 of the UNCRC talks specifically about child rights within the criminal justice system. It directs that a child must never be subjected to ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. It also specifies that neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release can be imposed for those under 18 years of age. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child should be in conformity with the law and should only be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
Iftikhar Mubarik, a child right’s activist, and the executive director of NGO Search for Justice, expresses his concern over the treatment of minors, especially those involved in narcotics cases.
“Drug mafias often use women and minors as mules to avoid strict punishment,” he says. “Minors are often unaware of the consequences of their actions and are coerced into delivering narcotics for financial gain. He emphasized the need for the criminal justice system to consider the involvement of minors in such cases.”
Executions of minors
According to Mubarik, the JJSA prohibits the execution of minors, but allows for life imprisonment – which also contradicts international child rights as stated in the UNCRC.
Mubarik criticizes the lack of implementation of JJSA provisions, which require separate courts and jails for children who commit offenses. According to Section 4 of the JJSA, the Prime Minister, in consultation with the concerned High Courts, designates special Juvenile Courts. However, Mubarik argues, this process creates implementation challenges, and suggests that provincial authorities, such as the Chief Minister, should instead have the authority to designate Juvenile Courts. This change could potentially streamline the process and improve the implementation of the JJSA provisions
Pakistan operates all cases of minors who are involved in any criminal offense under the JJSA 2018.
Advocate High Court Qamar Hanif Ramay from the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, emphasizes that under the JJSA, bail is a right for children up to 16 years old, while for those between 16 and 18, the court decides on a case-to-case basis. But Ramay notes that judges are restricted by law from reducing punishments for minors, even if they wish to do so, and may face scrutiny from the Supreme Court.
Ramay highlights that judges who want to decrease punishment for minors are bound by law and cannot go against the punishment suggested in the main substantive law.
He also criticizes the justice system for not having separate jails and courts for minors, leading to children becoming prone to criminal behavior when incarcerated. He stresses the need for reform and correction centers to rehabilitate minors rather than punishing them.
Condition of minors in jails
Meanwhile Robina Shaheen, a Women Protection Officer with the AGHS during an interview with Voicepk has shed light on the alarming situation of minors in Pakistani jails. During visits to these facilities, Robina finds that many children are unaware of the charges against them, with some believing they are imprisoned for petty crimes such as minor thefts when, in fact, their records indicate multiple drug cases.
This issue is further complicated by the fact that children who commit minor crimes are often sentenced for more severe offenses that they may not have committed. Shaheen emphasizes the need for separate jails and courts for minors, categorized by age and crime, as mandated by the JJSA. However, this provision remains unimplemented.
Overcrowding is another significant challenge, with Pakistani jails operating at nearly twice their capacity. This makes it impossible for authorities to provide adequate facilities, particularly for minors.
“Jails are factories for crime,” says Shaheen and without proper support and separation from adult prisoners, children cannot become productive members of society.