Yesterday, I visited Adiala Jail, Juvenile section. I was heart broken to see poor small kids who have been languishing in jails since months only because they neither have legal representation nor resources to submit surety bond in the court for their bail.
However, under Juvenile Justice system act 2018, court has the power to release juveniles without surety bound but hardly any judge prefer this practice. In addition to this, state is responsible to provide legal representation to a juvenile but as usual state has become a habitual absconder especially when it comes to the rights of vulnerable and oppressed people of this country. They might have committed the crime but they are still humans and still our future.
The more you know and observe the criminal justice system, the more you realize that the irreparable damage could only be undone by overhauling and complete restructuring of this system. This country is only for elite club. Rest of the people in this country are insects. It breaks my heart into thousands of pieces and really melts to know that how much talent we have been wasting in our juvie jails as this grows more.
I urge the federal and provincial governments to look into this and make sure that this get’s resolved in a proper way. I am not sure why no one really is interested in making this better because these kids have still a long way to go and we can improve their lives and future. Why cannot we teach them some skills and why cannot we give them in the foster care. We can also try to engage the NGOs and other private sectors to help out.
We must act now before it’s too late and a whole generation is lost.
