Nineteen children have been arrested on charges of blasphemy across Punjab between January 1, 2023 and October 16, 2023.
In an appeal submitted to the Punjab Information Commission by the director of Legal Awareness Watch, Sarmad Ali, it was revealed by the Inspectorate General of Punjab Prisons that 19 minors were arrested out of whom six are in prison while the rest have been released, The News has reported.
Sarmad Ali explained to The News that several children in the country are facing charges carrying severe punishment. Some of these children are not even allowed to maintain their juvenility as explained by the law. Under Section 8 of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, he explained, “Thus, owing to inadequate and effective implementation of [the] cited law which was promulgated in May 2018, many children have been [held] without fair trial or [have been] sentenced to severe punishment in sheer ignorance of the international standards and conventions which the state of Pakistan is signatory to.”
The law also explains that children-even if dangerous-must be given their due rights. Sarmad added, “Children that are accused of having infringed any penal law must not be treated as adults as they cannot foresee the consequences of their actions.”
