Children and minors have been utilized for committing crimes of various kinds since long –robbery, selling drugs, sexual abuse etc. Countries of the world - mainly developing and under developed nations - have set their feet on the rights of children, albeit almost all nations have signed international regulations on rights of children. In Saudi Arabia, for example, children trafficked from third world countries are used as camel jockeys.
Terrorists groupsin Afghanistan have increasingly been using childrenfor executing terror attacks in Afghanistan, mainly for suicide attacks. In the recent years the Taliban too have reportedly engaged more children and teenagers in their group.
According a report by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released last week 545 children have been killed in Afghan conflict in the last year. It launched a booklet highlighting the complementarity between the teachings of Islam with international human rights and international humanitarian law.“The conflict has exposed children to armed groups that prey on their vulnerability and exploit them, and who use children to participate in active hostilities or as messengers and delivery boys – further exposing children to the dangers of war,” said UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of Unama, JánKubiš, at the launch, revealed Unama’s website.
The stories that reflect how the Taliban brainwash children are now so common. Childrenare given amulets containing verses from the Koran by Taliban commanders who tell them they would be protected from the explosion. They are also told that when they detonated their bomb, everyone else would die but they would survive.
This is a very dangerous trend. Already the children in Afghanistan are suffering due lack of security and poor economic condition, their use in crimes, specifically, terrorism would have horrifying prospects. Afghanistan’s future is highly dependent on the children nurturing today. Attempts of militants to develop extremism among the children and youths may have far destructing outcomes for us. Such acts by Taliban further prove that they do not belong to religion of Islam, as Islam completely bans violence on children and their use in crimes.
The act of Taliban to use the children in carrying out terror attacks needs to be widely condemned. Such an act is anti-Islam and anti-human. The government and other concerned organizations must create more awareness among the people regarding this issue and our Ullama must urge the Taliban to stop using the children in their crimes.