Baqar orders free legal aid for juvenile offenders

KARACHI: Taking notice of the 385 juvenile offenders languishing in different jails of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur, Sindh caretaker chief minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar on Monday directed the provincial law department to provide them with free legal aid and report back to him.

Baqar took notice of media reports claiming that 385 juvenile offenders — 168 of them 17 years old, 106 of them 16 years old, 100 of them 18 years old, eight of them 15 years old, two of them 14 years old and one of them 13 years old — are imprisoned in the three cities.

He directed the law department to provide free legal aid to the underage jail inmates. He also directed the department to keep him posted with daily compliance reports.