ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: Around 2,500 children are languishing in different jails of the country and most of them interned on the charges of petty offences, says a children’s rights organisation.

The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) has depicted a dim picture of children’s rights. They are thrown into jails on “very petty offences”, says the findings of the society. It says there are about 9,000 to10,000 juvenile offenders.

The Sparc has also prepared its first documentary on rules and regulations of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 entitled ‘Detention as a last resort”. The documentary depicts maltreatment of children.

Mostly, children from poor background are caught on petty offences and thrown into the jails. There, they are treated in callous disregard for their tender age and immature mind.

In the documentary, the Spark also emphasises on saving the children from the hardships of prison life and seeks compulsory birth registration, repeal of the Frontier Crimes Regulations, setting up of exclusive juvenile courts, establishing of reformatory and rehabilitation centres and ban death penalty to juvenile offenders.

Sparc board member Anees Jilani on the occasion expressed his concern over the arrest of juvenile on petty crimes, the manner in which they are dragged into courts and the shabby treatment of their cases there. Like other litigations, the cases related to juvenile are also delayed and they have to appear in courts time and again, he said. Such treatment, he said, can dismantle their whole life. When they come out of jails, they are so shy that they find it difficult to make themselves part of the society.

Mr Jilani opposed registering of FIR against juvenile and said that instead of arresting them, they should be advised not to resort to such things and also warned of dangers if the same crime was committed again. He also suggested that instead of throwing them into jails, they could be asked to do some social work like assisting in orphanages, hospitals or any other community work.

“It is a fact that detention in the judicial lock-ups, police stations, jails or any other detention centres further exacerbate the situation by exposing children to multiple forms of abuse, including sexual violence, psycho-social damage and death through murder and extra-judicial killing,” he added.

The essence of juvenile justice system is to save children who come into conflict with the law from exploitation, abuse, injustice and discrimination by providing them the environment where they are treated with care, respect, understanding and compassion so that they are capable of becoming responsible and productive citizens and not hardened criminals, he maintained.

Mr Jilani also noted that only the poorest of the poor land in jails. “We have hardly seen any well-to-do there”, he said. In his view, the rich can use money or influence to get themselves free from the police stations or even before being taken in police custody.

He stressed on steps to reform children instead of arresting them and putting them in jails which, he said, can have dangerous consequences on their grooming.