Pre-trial Treatment: Girl Children in Police Custody in Pakistan

This article highlights the pre-trial procedural gaps in police practice by examining the treatment of three girl victims/alleged offenders in Pakistan. The vantage points for the discussion are taken to be the JJSO 2000 and the UNCRC 1989. The analysis is based on case studies of three girl children- NM, AA and N . Of the three cases, the researcher had more than two times interviews with NM and AA. In case of N, most of the analysis is based on closely following the stories appearing in the local and national newspapers. The findings of the study confirm gross misappropriations of power by the police, resulting in the worst kind of treatment of child victims and violations of all the provisions of JJSO and the UNCRC. The case studies do not merely portray these girl children as victims of police violence but also shed some light on the illegal and inhuman treatment inflicted upon them by the very custodians of law and order.