ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: In Pakistan 48.75 per cent population (over 86 million) is between 1 to 18 years of age but during the last four years, the government has not bothered to do any legislation for the rights of this particular section of the population.

This was stated by participants at the launching of a study report ‘The State of Children in Pakistan’ prepared by Children’s Complaint Office (CCO) with the support of UNICEF on Monday.

Senator S.M. Zafar while speaking with the participants said that launching the report was a “first step in a thousand miles journey.” Unfortunately children are nowhere in the priorities of the government.

“Families are having so many children that they cannot afford their expenses, on the other hand poverty is increasing because of corruption, bad governance and other issues,” he said.

He said that while he was chairman of Parliament’s standing committee on human rights, a survey regarding children residing in Islamabad was conducted and it was learnt that 300,000 children only in Islamabad were not getting education.

S.M. Zafar said: “Civil society can push the government to resolve the issues but for that a dedicated group is required. I have a feeling that we have a selfish society. We care about our children but not about children of other persons. If every rich family decides to pay the expenses of education of one deserving child, problem would be solved,” he said.

While discussing the report, research analyst Fazila Gulzar said that according to economic survey of Pakistan, overall literacy rate is 57.7 per cent.

The situation of child health in Pakistan is terrible. About 38 per cent of children less than five years of age are underweight and 12 per cent are severely underweight.

“There is no uniform definition of a child in terms of age in the Constitution of Pakistan. A significant number of children are not registered. Pakistan’s Penal Code (section 89) allows for corporal punishment and it is widely practiced in schools, workplaces and other institutes,” she said.

She said that although not widely acknowledged, there is prevalence of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse. There is no support for special children and majority of them have very little chance to become productive citizens of society.

Harmful traditional practices including forced and early child marriages and dowry related violence persists in the society.

She said that in recent years children have been taking part in hostilities. Children who have been caught by the authorities have confirmed under-age recruitment and training of minors. There is high prevalence and acceptance of child labour.

A detailed survey should be done to find the exact number of forced labourers.

“The number of juveniles in detention centres has decreased over the years. However, the Juvenile Justice System Ordnance, 2000 is poorly enforced. The minimum age of criminal responsibility still stands at 7 years. There are no rehabilitation facilities for juvenile offenders,” she said.

Through the report it has been recommended that government should make efforts to implement National Plan of Action 2006, all over Pakistan. The federal government must review the National Education Policy with the input of provincial governments.

Child Rights Commission should be established. Minimum age for employment should be raised to 15 years and minimum marriageable age for girls should be 18 years.

The report further recommends that cost-free birth registration campaigns should be initiated. All corporal punishments should be banned. Government should develop national and provincial strategies to counter the increasing number of street children and provide nutrition, shelter, healthcare and educational opportunities. Minimum age of criminal responsibility should be raised to 18 years.

Ombudsman for children must be appointed to work exclusively for the well-being of children.

Head of Children’s Complaint Office, Federal Ombudsman Secretariat, Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi said that training of civil servants is necessary for the implementation of child rights. He said that during one year, around 500 complaints have been submitted regarding issues of children in his office.