PESHAWAR, Feb 20: The additional district and sessions judge in Kohat convicted a juvenile offender of drug pushing but directed that he should be released on probation for a period of two years.

Judge Aamir Nazir Bhatti observed that the accused, Salib Jan, had confessed that he was present in the vehicle from which the contraband was recovered.

The court sentenced him to life imprisonment, but observed that as he was a first-time offender he should be released on probation under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. The court ordered the father of the boy to furnish two surety bonds of Rs200,000 each and directed the Kohat probation officer to look after the boy after he was released.

Salib Jan, a resident of Sarband in Peshawar, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Force when he was travelling in a coach on May 30, 2005.

The driver, who was later identified as Wahid Gul, escaped. The ANF recovered 239kg of charas from the coach.

Voice of Prisoners chairman Noor Alam Khan appeared for the boy and contended that he was below 18 years at the time of the offence and was a child as per the definition given in the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance.

Earlier, Mr Khan had requested the court to direct the probation officer concerned to compile a social investigation report of the accused.

The officer prepared the said report which proved that the boy had neither committed any prior offence nor were his family members involved in any crime.