ISLAMABAD, Sept 14: The Supreme Court was told here on Thursday that Quetta police had recovered 36 of the 38 missing children of the city and efforts were afoot to find the remaining two. Quetta police chief Amjad Javed informed the court about recovery of the children.

On Sept 4, the bench had ordered the Quetta police to recover the missing children and submit a report.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had taken suo motu notice of the matter on reports of kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old Shugufta Paracha which sparked protest by human rights groups.

On Thursday, sate counsel M. Bilal and Balochistan Assistant Advocate-General Mehmood Raza submitted a report on missing children stating that a majority of them belonged to poor families and many had left their homes themselves. After perusing the report, the court appreciated the police performance and observed that they had made a ‘remarkable breakthrough’.