Written by Stephanie Rodriguez. Media by Cassandra Rieke.
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In life, many people have to go through hardships and challenges to not only become strong, but to make better life decisions from past experiences. Muhammad Musa Khan, a nine-month-old baby, has had to learn ‘early’ on that life can be absurdly difficult.
On April 4th, the world took notice of baby Khan, alongside his father, grandfather, and ten other family members, who were being charged with attempted murder in Pakistan.
They’re not the only ones. Around 30 citizens were facing charges after a large protest occurred in Lahore, Pakistan about an electrical shortage and gas cuts due to unpaid bills. The police are the ones actually accusing these civilians of casting stones at security officers and gas company workers, which they consider attempted murder. The police took it to the extremes by including baby Khan in their file.
Punjab’s Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, was shocked when he found out that among the people being charged, there was baby Khan being accused as well. This shows that the country’s legal system needs a reevaluation. The chief minister asked that the police look into the person who filed the charges, an assistant superintendent, and he has now been officially suspended from his job.
The family’s lawyer, Irfan Tartar, emphasized the fact that Pakistan law states that children under the age of 7 cannot be prosecuted. In the courtroom there were many journalists and Yasin, the baby’s grandfather, took the opportunity to ask them, “He does not even know how to pick up his milk bottle properly, how can he stone the police?”
Baby Khan was granted bail after the first hearing and is currently out of the public’s eye. He had to appear in court on April 12th. The police were embarrassed because the world was now directly looking at them, as well as judging them for their ignorance. On the day of the second hearing, they dropped the charges against baby Khan. However, the charges against his family are still being accounted for. They will continue to go to court until a final decision is made.
Even though the baby won’t be going to prison, there’s still the fact that the judicial system of Pakistan is untrustworthy. The police in that country are known for messing with poor families by filing distorted complaints against them. The situation with baby Khan has become a positive thing because the judicial system is looking into an immediate reform.
Baby Khan will have an interesting story to tell his friends when he grows up. Not many can say that as babies they have been charged with something, especially attempted murder. Babies can be manipulative, but to help plan a murder?
Video from www.youtube.com
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-26887186
http://globalnews.ca/news/1258530/baby-in-pakistan-charged-with-attempted-murder/
