7 hours Ago By Shahid Rao
ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan taking suo moto on missing child in Quetta Thursday summoned Inspector General (IG) of Police and Home Secretaries of all the provinces directing them to submit reports on child abductions. A day ago (Wednesday) schoolchildren staged a protest at Balochistan Assembly Chowk demanding safe recovery of Muhammad Musawir, a child abducted six days ago from the Multani Mohalla area. The children urged authorities to expedite efforts to locate the missing boy.
A seven-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din conducted hearing of a case of missing child and expressed concerns over the rise in child abductions, particularly in Quetta. It summoned all the IGPs and Home secretaries from all provinces for the next hearing. Justice Jamal Mandokhail expressed concern over the failure to recover the missing child in Quetta, stating that despite the city being paralyzed by protests for six days, the government seemed indifferent.
He pointed out that even schoolchildren in Quetta had taken to the streets in protest. 42 passengers killed, 29 injured as gunmen ambush convoys in Kurram Justice Musarrat Hilali raised questions about the report submitted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which claimed zero cases of sex trafficking. She questioned how such a claim could be made when the issue remains rampant.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar inquired whether any provincial body or commission was working on the issue of missing children, particularly in light of the 18th Amendment, which granted more powers to the provinces. Justice Mandokhail noted that the entire province of Balochistan had been shut down due to the abduction, but the government seemed unconcerned. He further criticized the lack of preparation by government lawyers on this crucial issue.
The bench was also informed that a committee formed by the Supreme Court on child abductions had not taken any concrete actions since its establishment in 2018. The petitioner claimed that the committee had never actually been constituted. In response, the Additional Advocate General of Balochistan promised to submit a report on the matter.
Pakistan regrets UNSC inability to reach consensus on Gaza Justice Mazhar observed that the court did not need mere reports but required concrete actions to address child abductions. Justice Mandokhail called for a broader inquiry into the situation, questioning why the authorities were not taking more substantial measures to curb child abductions. The bench also scrutinised the role of law enforcement agencies, with Justice Mandokhail questioning the role of the Frontier Corps (FC) in social welfare efforts despite the large expenditures allocated to them.
Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi pointed out that children in Karachi were seen begging at traffic signals, raising further concerns about child welfare. Tags: sc annoyed govt.
