Child kidnappings: Helpline launched to register complaints

The number 1121 will be operational round the clock

LAHORE: A committee, formed on Supreme Court’s directive on the issue of child kidnappings, has launched a helpline.

Supreme Court Bar Association president Syed Ali Zafar, a member of the committee, told a press conference on Friday that the helpline 1121 had been set up for registering complaints regarding incidents of child kidnapping. He said a person with a complaint against police on account of non-registration of an FIR or lack of investigation on part of police might report it to the helpline.

Zafar said the helpline would be operational round the clock on all weekdays. In this regard, he said, offices had been set up at the office of Advocate General Punjab in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur.

“This is an important issue that has been ignored by governments for long. The high-powered committee will make sure that the relevant data is collected and each case is investigated thoroughly.” He said this was a non-political matter. He said there were some excellent officers in the Police Department who would make sure that complaints were properly investigated and children were recovered.

Zafar said the committee would replace investigation officers if it felt that they were not effectively handling the cases. He said the data would help determine the ratio of children who fled home and those kidnapped for sexual exploitation or trafficking. He said the committee would suggest laws and rules with an aim to improve the security of children.

AGP Sahakilur Rehman said the data provided by police would be reconciled with that collected from the public. He said advertisements would be published to raise awareness in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2016.