Daily Times

The Child Protection Court with state-of-the-art facilities was inaugurated at Saidu Sharif in Swat on Friday.

The court was inaugurated by Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan through a virtual inauguration ceremony from Peshawar.

Addressing the inaugural function, he said that these kind of special courts would serve as a milestone in the better implementation of child protection laws aimed at providing a conducive environment for children in the province. He said that the establishment of courts was a historic step of the Peshawar High Court in protecting the rights of children and providing a friendly environment to childern of all age group. Apart from Swat district, child protection courts were also inaugurated in D.I.Khan, Bannu and Kohat through a virtual ceremony.

With the inauguration of four new Child Protection Courts, the total number of special courts for children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has risen to eight, the highest number of Child Protection Courts in any province.

Earlier, these courts have been set up in Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad and Mohmand tribal districts. Special events were organized in the respective districts in connection with the inauguration of child protection courts. The main ceremony was held at the Peshawar High Court while for Swat the ceremony was held in the District Courts Conference Room at Saidu Sharif.

Commissioner of Malakand Division Syed Zaheerul Islam, DIG of Malakand Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, Additional Registrar Peshawar High Court Mumrez Khan Khalil, District and Sessions Judge Swat Shoaib Khan, judges, lawyers and media representatives attended the function.

The event highlighted the usefulness and facilities of child protection courts set up in four districts through documentaries.

It was informed at the function that play areas, study areas and other facilities have been provided for the children in these special courts. In his address, District and Sessions Judge Swat Shoaib Khan termed the establishment of Child Protection Court as a historic development. He said that there were 29 juvenile cases in Swat district and the establishment of a special court would not only provide a friendly environment to the children in the court premises but also make it easier for them to record statements with the help of video link. At the end of the event, the participants were given a tour of different parts of the Child Protection Court.