On February 12, 2011, a 12-year-old in school uniform exploded himself at the Punjab Regiment Parade in Mardan, killing 24 army recruits. On May 15, 2012, a boy of 13 years laden with explosives blew himself up in a crowded market place in Bajaur Agency, killing 26 persons and injuring 75 others. On November 20, 2012, a 13-year-old boy from Khyber Agency was detained by the army for entering Peshawar under suspicious circumstances. On January 2, 2014, Aitzaz Hassan, a brave boy from Hangu district, stopped an explosives laden suicide bomber from entering his school, killing himself and the intended attacker instantly at the school gate. The list goes painfully on. Incidents like these are not new to Pakistan, which is home to terror networks that are breeding extremists through recruitment and early brainwashing.
Children in Pakistan face countless dangers from state or non-state actors. The worst to suffer are children in their young adolescent years who become prey to terrorist recruiters. Their vulnerabilities are aggravated through the failing law and order situation, depleting security and poor economic conditions. To understand its various dynamics, a state should take responsibility for recognising the troubles it has caused or has allowed to occur where they could have been prevented. The nefarious designs of non-state actors can easily take advantage of the loopholes created by the state. This is exactly the reason why the responsibility of protection of children ultimately falls on the government, which, at present, is far from its primary focus.
One of the gravest concerns that should be on the priority list of the government, besides educational reforms, is to prevent our children and youth from being recruited by jihadist organisations, madrassas (seminaries) and the militant wings of political parties. Pakistan has not lived up to its frequent commitments of regularising the madrassa despite a crying need to do so. Moreover, Pakistan has not been able to control the finances these seminaries have been getting, including zakat money, despite the fact that these madrassas have been involved in shady business deals and donations received from some Arab countries.
With much economic and social turbulence in Pakistan, child protectionism and a conscientious responsibility towards it is withering away. With the issue of internal conflicts, national disasters and sectarian violence, a large part of the population is displaced with children bearing the most vulnerable status. While catering to the needs of children in war-torn areas, there is an urgency to de-radicalise children and the youth, who are easily picked up by jihadist groups. Recently, the army undertook the powerful initiative of de-radicalisation and reintegration of detained low risk jihadists into society. Apparently, according to an army spokesperson, an estimated 2,200 detainees have graduated its different de-radicalisation programmes. The most popular and efficient of these programs is the Sabaoon School, which was established in 2009 during the Rah-e-Rast Operation in Swat. The outreach and impact of this reformative school has been too little to furnish overall success but it has yielded positive results. There is a need to replicate reformative schools in other parts of the country too where there is an upward trend of recruitments in madrassas and jihadist outfits.
Aside from the non-state actors involved in child recruitments, the state is also directly involved in recruiting children less than 18 years of age to its armed forces. At present, the current minimum age of recruitment in the army is 16, whereas children as young as 15 can join the air force as technicians. Though not contravening the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it does morally question the precedent set for children who are being recruited at an early age. Furthermore, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC) was signed by Pakistan but has not been ratified by it yet as the protocol calls for preventing recruitment of children less than 18 years of age during armed conflicts.
In addition to this, Pakistan has also staged its protest over its listing in the report of the secretary general to the Security Council on children and armed conflict, which was approved by 11 nations with four absent (Pakistan was one of them). Pakistan gave the argument that the situation in the country is caused by armed groups and hence they are not conflicts. It said that the report is an attempt to divert attention away from armed groups that are responsible for terrorist attacks in the country. Pakistan even tried to convince the UN that the linking of armed groups with the Taliban and al Qaeda is misleading. China supported Pakistan on its stance and said that terrorist attacks in the country cannot be “equalised” with armed conflict. Though the arguments presented by Pakistan lacked grounds, many other international organisations working on children in armed conflicts expressed shock and dismay over Pakistan’s reaction and accused it of “politicising” the issue. However, the situation in Pakistan, which is troubled by wars, its army’s actions and the failure of the government to deliver are too obvious to be recorded, with children suffering in terms of life, education and health. The argument thus presented is nothing but a war of words that does not change the hard fact of child suffering here.
The idea that every member of a society should be able to play a role positively and productively for the collective benefit of all holds merit. Unless we have this in mind, we will not be aligned with the interests of the people and of children in particular. With the denial of the government of the imminent dangers it faces and not taking any steps to prevent further harm, little is left to hope for. It is time for the state to realise its responsibility to intervene and allocate enough resources that can help cater to the children suffering in conflict here.
The writer is a freelance columnist and may be contacted at [email protected]