Lost & found: Seven-year-old reunites child with parents

Young vendor rescues lost child at Lahore Sunday Bazaar.

LAHORE: A 7-year-old vendor reunited a lost three-year-old boy to his family in the Nishtar Town Sunday Bazaar.

Three-year-old Adil Haroon was weeping away when Rashid Mushtaq, who sells shopping bags at the Bazaar, found him.

When the seven-year-old found out that the cause of Haroon’s distress was that his parents were missing, Mushtaq took him to the complaint centre.

At the centre, official Abdul Qadir took custody of the child. Mushtaq told the official that he had found Haroon standing alone and crying in the crowded Bazaar. “I found him helpless and thought it best to bring him to the complaint centre,” the rescuer said.

Finally, Haroon’s parents made their way to the complaint centre and were relieved to find their son. Haroon Bhatti, the child’s father, was overjoyed to see his son safe and sound and gave Mushtaq Rs1,000 as a reward for being a good samaritan.

The father told The Express Tribune that he had no words to show his gratitude to Mushtaq and Qadir. He said that the couple had been busy arguing with a vegetable vendor and had lost sight of their son.

Moments later they realised that the child was absent. They had started searching for their little boy and said that if Mushtaq had not brought him to the complaint centre it would have been difficult to locate him in the crowded Bazaar.

Qadir said Mushtaq had done a good deed by bringing the lost child to the centre. He hinted that Mushtaq deserved more appreciation and a larger award.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2011.