A writ petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking immediate government action for the protection of children's rights, which remain unimplemented despite the existence of multiple laws.
The petition, filed by Dr Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Chairman of the Good Governance Forum, requests the court to direct the government to rescue children forced into begging at traffic signals and those engaged in labour at workshops. The provincial government, Chairman of the Benazir Income Support Programme, Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education, Secretary of Social Welfare, and Inspector General of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police have been made respondents in the case.
The petitioner argued that hundreds of thousands of children in the province are deprived of their basic right to education and are compelled to beg on the streets. Despite the existence of laws such as the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act 2010, and the Prevention of Trafficking Act 2018, children remain victims of neglect and exploitation.
The writ further stated that Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is internationally bound to ensure the protection and provision of children's rights. Under Article 25-A of the Constitution, education is a constitutional and fundamental right, yet its enforcement remains absent.
The petition highlighted that children can be seen begging at traffic signals and intersections across the city while the administration has failed to fulfill its responsibilities.
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