Officers dined out

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of rank varying from a capt to a colonel got posted out.  And incidentally all AQs of the college are included in this list. The dine out of the posted out Lt Col/Cols was hosted by college on 16th of July here in beautifully decorated campus officers mess. These officers include Lt Col Riaz moving to Karachi, Lt Col Abid moving to Peshawar on promotion, Lt Col Shahid Muzaffar moving to Quetta on promotion, Lt Col Khalil-ur-Rehman to I of A on promotion and Lt Col Shehbaz Sohail to Kohat. It was an accompanied dinner and was complemented with the very warm wishes and excellent comments by the commandant in honour of

the posted out officers. Lt Col Riaz, SI ASG, being senior most thanked everyone for being there and wished the college, a prosperous future.

Other junior officers who have been posted out will be dinned out at departmental level by the respective chief and senior instructors. These officers include Maj Syed Muhammad Saqlain Zaidi, Maj Kawan Iqbal going to Karachi, Maj Muhammad Ali Iftikhar going to Avn setup in Rwp, Maj Khurram Sher leaving for Gujranwala, Maj Muhammad Shoaib for Mangla, Maj Adnan Mehboob for Hyerabad, Maj Imran Shafi for Avn Setup in Rwp.

Needless to say, youth crime is rampant in our society today. Unfortunately though, the modus operandi in dealing with it has simply been to shove it under the carpet because the crimes that relate to the youth are usually of little tangible consequence, and ‘matters of greater national importance’ are there to attend to. Sixty or so years should have taught us that although ignoring such a matter might appear insignificant in the short run, such a policy should accrue disastrous results become the future.

The obvious and somewhat natural response to crime is punishment. Punishment serves as a lesson to the perpetrator and acts as a deterrent to everyone else from committing the crime. All fine, but what of the punishment that never attempts to set things right? What of placebos that are given as placebos? Clearly, there is an urgent need to understand things right: Punishment is al good and fine when dealing with recidivist criminals, given that the intention is to provide justice, but when dealing with juvenile crime, it is imperative to deal with the issue in a different light. To understand the causes of youth crime in carving out

a proper scheme to deal with youth crime is not merely expedient, but absolutely essential.

The causes of youth crime are quite many and equally diverse: from object poverty to widespread corruption to a lack of education and literacy. Out of Pakistan’s population of around 165 million, almost half or 49% are under the age of 18 years while 22% are adolescent (10-18 years of age). A vast majority of this segment of the population lives below the poverty line. With even-increasing inflation rates and an expanding divide between the rich and the poor, the situation for the poor makes them all the more vulnerable. Poverty can even make man do often unimaginable things; looking for shortcuts, however morally and legally wring, is by no means unimaginable. Frustration can be vented out in criminal behavior. For the middle class the not-so-round-economy means unemployment, even for young and energetic people with degrees. The lack of employment, and need, drives the youth onto the streets as somewhat residual members of the society, already victimized but troublingly so, predisposed to crime.

Similarly, in many

schools, especially madressahs, the teaching techniques employed can sometimes be quite inhumane. When the threat of the cane looms, and a student just can not bear the brunt of rote anymore, running away is

always an option. Interestingly so, many households even, especially in the rural areas, still prefer to cling to an overly strict interpretation of spare the rod, spoil the child.

The problem was not

Youth Crime – causes and remedies

Excerpts from NS Jawwad Ahmad Article sent to Ministry of Youth Affairs Writing Competition, De 29(M)