Hard to uproot beggary: minister

Tariq Talpur tells Sindh Assembly organised gangs running trillions of rupees' worth of beggary rackets

KARACHI:

Sindh's Minister for Social Welfare, Mir Tariq Talpur, stated that begging is trillions of rupees worth of business involving organised gangs having links with police and influential people.

"If not impossible, it is very difficult to uproot beggary," he said replying to a query by MPA Rehan Bandukda of the Sunni Ittehad Council during the question and answer session related to the Department of Social Welfare in the Sindh Assembly on Friday.

Talpur said that various NGOs and the Sindh government are working together to prevent begging. However, it is not easy to eliminate a business worth trillions of rupees.

Pakistan Peoples Party's Imdad Pitafi mentioned that due to increased report of beggars traveling from Pakistan, no country in the world is willing to give Pakistanis a visa. He asked as to what steps have been taken to prevent begging, to which the provincial minister replied that people have adopted begging as a profession. Tariq Talpur said that it is also the responsibility of FIA, as these people get visas and beg abroad, which brings a bad name to the country. The provincial minister said that the federal government and provinces should legislate on this issue.

MQM's Waseem Ahmed said that beggars operate in organised gangs. "There are whole clans and tribes of beggars," he said calling on the government to take this issue seriously.

Talpur added that poverty is a factor, but begging is also a business. He told the house that police have rescued 266 children who were found begging on the roads, but the courts returned them to their parents.

Opposition Leader Ali Khursheedi asked when the rehabilitation center for drug addicts in Korangi would finally be established, as this has been a long-standing issue. Talpur responded that the center in Korangi will be operational by 2025.

In response to a question by Fauzia Hameed of MQM, Talpur said that the department has established 14 centers for senior citizens, where doctors will also be appointed.

Regarding another question from Fauzia Hameed, Talpur informed the assembly that last year, the Department of Social Welfare registered 4,039 NGOs, and only those NGOs that have worked in the field for a year are eligible for registration.