Formation of juvenile committees and courts demanded

ABBOTTABAD: Speakers at a workshop on Friday called for the immediate formation of juvenile committees and courts, emphasizing that minors should be housed in shelter homes, not prisons.

The one-day workshop was organized by the Lahore-based civil society organization SANJOG at the DPO Office Conference Hall in Mansehra emphasized urgent reforms to strengthen Pakistan’s juvenile justice system.

Key stakeholders, including senior police officials, legal experts, and child rights advocates, discussed critical measures such as abolishing police remand for minors, establishing exclusive juvenile courts, and ensuring education, healthcare, and rehabilitation for detained children.

The event, attended by SP City Resham Jehangir, SP Investigations Sheeraz Khan, investigation officers, and court staff, focused on the full implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Act (JJSA) 2018 and KP Rules 2023.

SANJOG CEO Hafiza Tayyaba Javed opened the session, outlining the organization’s nationwide efforts to promote child rights.Advocate Malik Saeed Akhtar stressed that juvenile justice prioritized rehabilitation over punishment for individuals under 18.

He highlighted the need for police capacity-building to enforce JJSA 2018, noting the “interactive and productive” engagement of officers. Ch. Waheed Ahmad, Chairman of the Lahore Bar Association’s Child Protection Committee, underscored systemic gaps, including the absence of observation homes and juvenile rehabilitation centers mandated by law.

He urged immediate formation of juvenile committees and courts, emphasizing that minors should be housed in shelter homes, not prisons.Participants recommended establishing juvenile courts, rehabilitation centers, and observation homes, including psychosocial support and revising outdated laws.

Train police, prison, and judicial staff on probation, parole, and child-sensitive procedures and Secure dedicated federal/provincial budgets for juvenile justice, including borstal institutions. Later, in a post-workshop talk, SANJOG representatives Malik Saeed Akhtar, Tayyab Javed, and Ch. Waheed Ahmad hailed the event as a milestone in police sensitization. They pledged to expand training programs across the province, calling the workshop a “motivational step forward” for systemic change.