LAHORE, June 29: The issues and challenges facing Pakistan’s children were discussed here in a seminar here on Friday. According to this report (launched at the seminar) by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), child rights violations are on the rise in Pakistan.

Justice Nasira Iqbal retired, who was invited to the launch, praised the efforts of SPARC as its 10th report reveals many facts which many people were not aware of.

Speaking on the Juvenile Justice Ordinance, she said that this law came into existence in 2000 after a span of 10 years. She said the number of juvenile courts in the country should increase. These courts, she said, should have judges who treated children in line with their sensitivities; judges who understood the psychology of children better and who kept their emotions in mind.

Coming to the media personnel, Nasira Iqbal was of the view that stories about child abuse should not be printed with the identities of the victims. Citing the recent same-sex marriage case, she said its so much publicity was not required. She went on to say that children in police custody were not safe and largely mistreated.

Similarly, the condition of Pakistan’s jails was pathetic, she said. In a case involving more than two people, where there were two or more children concerned, each child should be put on trial separately and the trial period for a child should not go beyond four months, Nasira Iqbal said.

Talking about violations against children, she also said that the Chief Justice had become very active in cases affecting children and he had plans to take suo motu notice of these. “This is a turning-point in society as the judiciary is now more aware of its responsibilities.” — Sadaf Siddiqui