Rampant Child Abuse in Balochistan
Editorial:
Balochistan is again the scene of a depraved crime against a minor boy. The rape and murder of an eight-year-old minor boy Imran in Balochistan’s Kalat city have pained every sane person in society. The minor boy went missing the other day, taken away by the accused when he was on his way to a Madressah (a religious school). The minor’s brutalized boy was found on Tuesday in a mountainous area of Kalat.
The medical report of the dead body revealed the minor was raped by more than one accused. The Inspector-General of Police Balochistan Mohsin Hassan Butt took the notice of the incident and senior police officers visited the spot of the crime and met with the broken family members of Imran. Police have been interrogating 10 suspects in connection with the cold-blooded murder of Imran, a Madressah student.
Despite the outrage against the cold-blooded murders of minor child Saad Shah in Quetta and 8-year old Inamullah in Killa Abdullah, children are still being subjected to sexual abuse in Balochistan. No matter which society, crimes against children evoke an especially acute horror.
Chief Justice Balochistan High Court (BHC), Mr. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail deserves to be appreciated for taking notice of child abuse in the province. The top judge of the province has directed all commissioners and the deputy inspector generals of police to take effective steps to eliminate child abuse in the province.
Mr. Mandokhail also directed the BHC registrar to convert the application of Boor Muhammad, the broken father of Inamullah into a constitutional petition. The court also directed the registrar to compile data of all child abuse cases in trial courts and direct them to ensure timely disposal of cases.
Indeed, such directives and steps would help decrease the number of incidents in terms of child abuse. However, police and levies should also streamline the investigation process to apprehend the culprits in such cases. During the current year, over 50 cases of child abuse reported in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. This is an alarming figure.
Most of the child abuse cases go unnoticed and unreported in rural areas of Balochistan because of the lack of education and tribal taboos. The media too needs to be sensitized to highlight child abuse cases to mount pressure on the administration. The provincial government should evolve a strategy and establish a child protection bureau to bring an end to child abuse in the province.
The criminal justice system must be overhauled and reformed to serve the people and bring an end to such brutal incidents involving children. The culprits that live amongst us should no longer be allowed to walk freely on our streets.
