THE problem is as heart-breaking as it is readily visible. Across the country, there are children who have, for one reason or another, lost their parents or been abandoned. Many end up on the streets; others find shelter in orphanages; some fortunate ones find loving homes with new guardians.

The one problem all of these uncounted thousands share is the difficulty in having Nadra issue them basic identity papers: the Form B that becomes the basis of a national identity card. Why? Because the application form does not have a provision for children under the guardianship of anyone other than their biological parents: those who have been legally ‘adopted’ through the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, or who are living in orphanages.

It is therefore worthy of appreciation that the Supreme Court has finally taken up again the matter of rights and protections for children of unknown parentage.

It is essential that answers to the many knotty questions be found with speed — but, as Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani observed on Thursday, with earnest recognition, the outcomes will have far-reaching and potentially life-altering consequences. The path is nothing less than a minefield.

Consider, for example, that while it is essential that Nadra create provisions for the registration of children whose biological parentage is unknown, making this distinction public by putting it on Form B or the CNIC could lead to stigmatisation.

These documents are, after all, accessible to educational institutions, employers and a host of others who have no business knowing such details. Indeed, in 2011, the Council of Islamic Ideology recommended that documents carry the names of legally ‘adoptive parents’ or guardians.

The issue is that under Pakistan’s laws, true adoption is not possible; instead, merely guardianship is permitted. Seeing that the court has taken up this very crucial matter, it is time to fix the legislation and modernise it to allow adoption in the real sense, a move that would benefit thousands of children and their families. Religious scholars could, for instance, adopt forward-looking interpretation in light of the scale of the issue. The questions must be worked through, slowly — but deliberately — and with a care to the benefit to individuals.