Bail application was filed by the NCHR through pro-bono services of advocate Mr. Haseeb Sultan and Mr. Waqar Ahmad from NCHR. Bail was granted to both petitioners in the sum of Rs. 20,000 each. Till filing of the report, NCHR has been appealing to the Government (MoHR & LAJA) and donors for provision of surety amount and release of the above juvenile prisoners. While the Government has set up various entities for the provision of legal aid, there is no authority or entity to help for the provision of bail and granting of sureties and custody on behalf of the state. Under JJSA 2018, rehabilitation Centers and Observations homes were to be set up throughout the country. None have been set up so far. If the JJSA had been operational with the set-up of rehabilitation centers, the issue of bail may not have arisen. The question that arises is this; What is the efficacy of provision of legal aid, if the juvenile remains incarcerated without anyone to pose bail or grant surety? JJSA provides the concept of ‘best interest of the child’, what is the process after initial provision of legal aid? Who will arrange bail and surety? This is where policy intervention is required. A few days back, four juveniles were acquitted and released by the Magistrate of Juvenile Court Justice Rana Mujahid. The children exited Adiala Jail at 9.30 pm after completion of all formalities. Some of those kids were from the interior and had no one to receive them. They were left alone and without money to travel home. It is in such cases that the Child Protection Centers and SOS villages come into play. The MoHR inaugurated the Aitzaz Hassan Child Protection Institute in June 2021. This huge custom renovated center was set up under the ICT Child Protection Act 2018 to provide “alternate care’ to children subject to abuse and neglect. Since 2021, a budget of Rs. 28.9 million has been sanctioned for the Center and a Director General, and two junior staff have also been hired. Under the Act, a Child Protection officer has also been notified. The Child Protection Center is an important element in the care and protection of street children and juveniles out on bail with nowhere to go. Sec 10 of the Act outlines functions of the Institute which include; ‘reports of children in need of protection and care and any other act ancillary to protection and care of children under this Act”. In the absence of Rehabilitation Centers, the ICT Child Protection would have been ideally suited to juveniles out on bail without family. Unfortunately, MoHR has reported that the Child Protection Center is now being transferred to a more central location and now non-functional. 21