Baluchistan Child Protection Act, 2016: What have we Learnt from Child Protection Legislation in Pakistan Since 2004?

This paper is a comparative analysis of Baluchistan Child Protection Act, 2016 with child protection legislation enactment and implementation in three other jurisdictions of Pakistan, namely; Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Sindh. Each province has enacted a child protection specific law followed by establishment of a formal institutional arrangement for the implementation of the law. In Punjab, the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act promulgated in 2004, and revised in 2007, and Child Protection and Welfare Bureau was established in the provincial Home department to implement this law. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), KP Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010 followed KP Child Protection and Welfare Rules 2013 while the implementation was assigned to a Child Protection and Welfare Commission within the provincial Social Welfare department. In Baluchistan, Child Welfare and Protection Act was enacted in 2016, a Child Protection Commission has been notified in 2018 within the provincial Social Welfare department which would be responsible for the implementation of the aforementioned law. The analysis reveals that despite a fairly long gap between enactment and implementation of previous three laws and the recent one there are legislative and institutional gaps which were not addressed in this new legislation, e.g, too much left to bylaws/secondary legislation which take years to follow, too narrow or too broad scope of the laws not matching with the capacity and mandate of the implementing bodies. Above all, each law acknowledges child protection to be a multidimensional and cross disciplinary endeavor, however, none chalks out clear collaboration mechanisms with other departments and organizations. It is concluded that those involved in child protection legislation and its implementation have a lot to learn from each other's experiences, especially from mistakes if we are to protect our children from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]