Child Protection Court in KP issues first judgment

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Child Protection Court on Monday awarded its first conviction to a child in the narcotics smuggling case.

The Special Court Judge, Wadiya Mushtaq Malik, awarded 6 days conviction to a child in the narcotics case. However, the 13-year old child had already undergone the sentence.

As per the prosecution, the police had arrested the child on April, last year in smuggling of 500 grams heroin. He was booked under Section 9 (b) of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act.

After the arrest, the trial was running in the special Anti-Narcotics Court and charge was framed there against the juvenile accused. The case was later shifted to the KP Child Court after it was established.

During the hearing, the child requested the court to pardon him as he belonged to a poor family and promised that he would never indulge in this crime again in his life. The court after commitment of the accused child took a lenient view of matter and awarded only six days conviction to him, the term he had already spent in the prison and thus he was freed. It was the first conviction after establishment of the first-ever Child Court which are hearing both cases registered under the child protection law 2002 and juvenile court under the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018. Sixty-two cases earlier pending with other courts have been shifted to the child protection court for hearing. A children-friendly atmosphere was created in the court comprising a courtroom and side rooms by displaying attractive paintings on the walls.