Violence and lawlessness, largely sponsored by militants, have been spread across the world at present and Pakistan is not an exception. Children along with civilians across the country are facing the worst face of violence. The concept of militancy is breaking all boundaries of the meaning it has and touching a new low these days by targeting children. Not only the political leaders, military officers and civil servants, but innocent children are also becoming the soft targets of militancy in Pakistan.
A recent incident happened in Pakistan forced everyone to think why did militants take shield in a school hiding behind more than 250 innocent kids. Militants first took up to 250 school children hostage on last Monday in a northwestern town Bannu in Pakistan. Later, they freed all of the children and surrendered to tribal elders. One can imagine the level of trauma the schoolchildren faced during the whole drama.
Each successive government promised to give top priority to education in Pakistan and announced new projects and schemes. But, the ground situation is still in disarray. Few good schools, few teachers, no quality of school education, unending battle between traditional and modern education system, low enrollment rate is the biggest problem Pakistan is facing. No teacher can openly talk about sex education in schools due to strict Islamic laws. The teachers can’t refer the male and female body parts by name.
This is highly offensive in Pakistan. Similarly, open discussion about the sexual abuse of children in Pakistan is another unacceptable offense. It boosts the incidents of sex crime against children in the country. In one recent case, a 13-year-old girl was quietly and forcefully married to a 24-year-old relative of her when her family members found that he was touching and fondling her.
Boys are facing the same fate and they are sold for sex work particularly in border areas. In the area near Afghan border, selling of young dancing boys known as ‘Lakhtay’ is a well-known routine to perform in marriage ceremonies and other functions. These boys often sodomised by their owners. The increasing number of incidents of child abuse cases is the clear indication of the failure of governments in Pakistan. Violence against children is rising because of weak laws, widespread corruption and poor social attitudes.
The United States has said it on several occasions that Al-Qaeda was using teenagers or children as suicide bombers in Iraq or different other places. Several Muslim clerics have urged the Al Qaeda jihadists to stop strapping bombs to children. The reports are saying that Children bombs are the most dangerous weapons Jihadist have ever produced.
One can hear about the rising incidents of ‘child militants’ too in Pakistan. They are being targeted in two ways – one as victims and the other as potential militants. Now, the Tribal leaders, religious militias, different sects, and criminals are recruiting children to use them to complete their tasks.
It has become a major issue and several recent incidents have indicated clearly that the problem is growing at threatening speed. The whole world had seen the visuals of recent Lal Masjid and May 12 Karachi incident where children were seen carrying sophisticated weapons. Isn’t it a high time to save children in Pakistan from bloodshed, mayhem?
