November 20, 2006	Monday	Shawwal 27, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: As the world observes the Universal Children’s Day on Monday, more than 10 million Pakistani child labourers are exposed to almost all types of exploitation and abuses with no opportunity to exercise their right to childhood.

Non of these children enjoy the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Pakistan is a signatory and obliged to fulfil its provisions.

Pakistan ranks among the countries with the poorest human indicators for child mortality — which is the highest in the South Asia — and for low primary school enrolment, which is 68 per cent for boys and only 50 per cent for girls.

Violence against children is not new in this South Asian country. Last year, a Lahore based non-governmental organisation published a mind-boggling report, which revealed the killing of over 4,000 children in different parts of the country during the last six years.