HARIPUR, Dec 30: "I abhor criminals and wish to study and lead a respectable life," says Siddique, 9, who is undergoing a three-year term in the Haripur central prison.

He is lodged in the prison cell with 13 children and three women of his family, while seven other children and five women of the family are languishing in the Dera Ismail Khan central prison.

Siddique's father Qadir Jan, uncle Arsala Khan and their accomplices were alleged to have kidnapped two women, two Frontier Corps personnel and 11 men of the Marwat tribe from Lakki Marwat in April 2004 over a dispute on construction of a private hostel on land owned by their family.

The Lakki Marwat Frontier Region political authorities had apprehended all members of the family, including children and women, under the Frontier Crimes Regulation No. 40 to force the accused to set free the hostages.

The political authorities sentenced all of them to three-year jail term under the FCR for being relatives of criminals. According to a visitor who met Siddique in his cell, the boy expressed resentment over the attitude of his father and uncle but held the rival tribe responsible for the situation.

The boy, who was studying in grade 3 when he was arrested, has recently completed six-month computer training at the skill development centre established in the jail by the Aurat Foundation. He wishes to become a software engineer.