LAHORE:The Juvenile Justice and Committee of Lahore Bar Association under the chairmanship of Advocate Sarmad Ali wrote to Home Secretary, Inspectorate General of Punjab Prisons and Punjab DG of Probation and Parole Service saying that the juvenile justice act 2018 was promulgated to safeguard best interest of children in conflict with the law to give them the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves during incarceration.
However, despite being in place across Pakistan since 22 May, 2018, children who have been sentenced to life imprisonment exceeding 14 years cannot be accommodated nor seemed to be eligible for parole and no remission other than educational remission be considered for their release from prison. The data released by the office of Inspectorate General of Punjab Prisons in response to Advocate Sarmad Ali right to information application under the Punjab Right to Information and Transparency Act 2013, had provided that 72 children across various prisons of Punjab have been serving life imprisonment. It is suggested that probation and parole laws be relaxed for children.
