Thanks to IHC, NCHR: 62 juvenile prisoners released from Adiala jail

ISLAMABAD: On the directives of Honourable Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Ather Minallah for the expeditious disposal of juvenile cases and the tireless efforts of the legal team of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), 62 juvenile prisoners have been released from Central Jail Adiala within past three days.

The court released 31 juvenile prisoners on Monday, 10 on Tuesday and 21 on Wednesday out of a total of 113 cases in Central Jail Adiala. The NCHR legal team comprising Advocate Raja Haseeb Sultan and Mian Waqar Ahmed completed the trial, recorded evidence and secured the release of prisoners.

“As per the directions of Chief Justice IHC, 62 cases of juvenile prisoners have been tried in the court of Rana Mujahid Raheem so far,” said Raja Haseeb Sultan from NCHR. He said in all these cases, FIRs were registered against unknown persons and children were acquitted by the court.

The fact shows the number of innocent people including children who silently suffer this injustice. Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Ather Minallah ordered the speedy release of juvenile prisoners during his visit to the Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi on Saturday. Justice Muhsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Mian Gul Hasan, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha accompanied the Chief Justice.

Honourable Justice Minallah also directed deputing an administrative judge to solve issues of juvenile prisoners on a priority and formed a special committee, with the representation of jail psychologists and the NCHR law office, for this purpose. He also asked the chief commissioner to arrange a special van for juvenile prisoners.

In a letter to Chief Justice IHC, the Commission highly appreciated the concern shown by the Chief Justice in the welfare of juvenile prisoners and alleged illegalities, violation of human rights and incarceration of juveniles in Central Jail, Adiala, Rawalpindi.

“We acknowledge the commitment of Chief Justice for the cause. It was his initiative that gained momentum and led to change in the age-old corrupted convoluted penal system,” said Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha.

“There should have been rehabilitation homes and observation centres under the Juvenile Justice Act 2018 which have not been set up despite the timeline of three months given in the law by the Ministry of Interior,” said NCHR Chairperson.