19 children arrested for blasphemy in Punjab from Jan-Oct

LAHORE: Nineteen children were arrested on charges of blasphemy from across Punjab between January 1, 2023 and October 16, 2023. According to data available with The News, 6 out of these 19 children are in prison charged with blasphemy while the others were acquitted.

These figures have been made public by the Inspectorate General of Punjab Prisons in an appeal submitted to the Punjab Information Commission by the director of Legal Awareness Watch, Sarmad Ali.

When contacted by The News, appellant Sarmad Ali explained that numerous children across Pakistan are facing penal charges that carry severe punishment. Ali said that some of these children are not allowed to establish their juvenility under Section 8 of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018. Sarmad Ali elaborated: “Thus, owing to inadequate and effective implementation of [the] cited law which was promulgated in May 2018, many children have been [held] without fair trial or [have been] sentenced to severe punishment in sheer ignorance of the international standards and conventions which the state of Pakistan is signatory to.”

According to Ali, children -- even if considered ‘dangerous’ -- must be protected and given their due rights enshrined in the constitution and under special laws such as the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018. Internationally as well, children receive special treatment both socially and at the judicial level to ensure that their best interests remain protected. On juveniles and the law, Sarmad Ali added: “Children that are accused of having infringed any penal law must not be treated as adults as they cannot foresee the consequences of their actions.”