Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Charges against infant in Pakistan are dropped.
ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani judge dismissed an attempted-murder case Saturday that police lodged against a 9-month-old boy, ending a case that drew new criticism to the country’s criminal-justice system.
The family of infant Mohammad Musa had kept the boy in hiding after authorities pressed charges accusing him of trying to kill police officers after a neighborhood brawl in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore. Judge Rafaqat Ali Qamar dropped the case against the boy during a hearing in which police announced they would no longer pursue the charges, said defense lawyer Irfan Tarar.
“The father of [the] toddler produced him before the judge today,” Tarar said. “The boy was in the arms of his father when police submitted a report, stating they have dropped the charge against the boy.”
Qamar also reprimanded police in court, demanding a written explanation about why officers did not properly investigate the case, Tarar said.
The case stems from a Jan. 31 altercation, when power company officials went into the boy’s neighborhood to disconnect illegal power lines allowing people to get electricity to their homes without paying for it. Such pilferage is common in Pakistan, and attempts to disconnect the residences can be met with violence.
Police said in this case, neighbors threw stones at energy company officials and their officers. The boy’s grandfather, Malik Muhammed Yaseen, earlier said that neighborhood women attacked the police with batons only after officers mistreated residents.
That altercation led police to open an attempted-murder investigation into 30 people in the neighborhood, including the toddler and his father, police officer Atif Zulfiqar said last week.
Yaseen said police arrived at his house multiple times looking for the baby. He said the family told police that the boy was less than a year old, but officers demanded they take him to court. The boy was released on bond and wept as police took his fingerprints.
The case highlighted problems in the country’s criminaljustice system, where even children are not immune to prosecution. Pakistan’s police are routinely accused of torturing suspects and extorting people for bribes. Flaws in the country’s legal system and poor police investigations often result in the release of criminals and terrorists, while militants routinely target officers in their attacks.
The boy’s parents could not be reached for comment Saturday after the judge’s decision, but Tarar said the child’s whole family was very happy.
“After today’s court order, the 9-month boy is free to live anywhere,” he said. “This case is an eye-opener, and we hope and expect that police will avoid any repeat of such mistakes.”