=> ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the Society for the Pro
ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), Qazi Azmat Isa, on Thursday said militancy impacted on children in two ways: one as victims and the other as potential militants.
Speaking at the annual conference titled “Child Militancy in Pakistan”, he said tribal lords, religious militants, various sects, and gangsters recruited children to use them for their purposes.
The SPARC chairman said that in over 20 countries around the world, children were direct participants in war. They are denied their childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 children are serving as soldiers for both rebel groups and government forces in current armed conflicts around the world. He said child militancy in Pakistan was a major issue and even though there was limited information on the subject, several recent incidents indicated that the problem was growing. He pointed out the Lal Masjid incident where children directly took part in the operation, the May 12 incident of Karachi where the youth and children were seen on television carrying guns. The operation in the tribal areas and Swat has led to the arrest of several teenagers, he said.
Sharing his thoughts, the chief guest Justice (retd) Nasir Aslam Zahid said: “Pakistan should be a welfare state to avoid such serious issues such as child militancy.” He emphasised that education was the only way out to develop a nation on the basis of equality and justice.
Deputy Country Director Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ms Nicole Ruder said that the tragedy in Pakistan was that the child militants were told that they were doing good for themselves, their family and religion and then made to do things causing death and destruction. Dr Pervez A Hoodbhoy said, “Do we want an Islam which is full of extremists in which women can’t get education, people cannot watch television, and have to be cut off from the world to be good Muslims.” He emphasised that no man could impose his perception of Islam on others and added that right kind of education could help combat this negative trend in the society. He pointed out that children in affected areas did not watch TV but videos made by the Taliban, showing beheadings of people and they were becoming role models for these children.
Source: The News
Date:12/15/2007
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