LAHORE: The provincial government told the Lahore High Court on Tuesday that its order on security of school children was being implemented in phases.

During hearing of a petition seeking measures for the safety of children in the wake of kidnapping incidents in the province, the government’s counsel stated that a notification had been issued for the deployment of security guards in school children’s transportation vehicles. Record was also being collected for the registration of vehicles and their drivers, he added.

A police report submitted before the chief justice revealed that 66 children were yet to be recovered out of a total of 7036 cases of abduction registered during the last five years.

Punjab Human Transplant Authority’s Administrator Dr Faisal Masood told the court private institutions owned by influential persons were involved in illegal transplantation of human organs. He said police were fully known to the illegal activity but reluctant to take any action.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah constituted a committee giving it the task to furnish suggestions for rehabilitation of the recovered children and as to how illegal transplantation of organs could be curbed. Dr Masood will head the committee.

The chief justice directed the government to come up on Oct 27 with progress reports regarding implementation of the court order that required steps for the safety of school children in particular.

Advocate Zain Sikandar filed the petition contending that incidents of kidnapping of school children had been increasing. He said most of the children were abducted on their way to schools.

Bagram jail: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Tuesday sought a detailed reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a petition seeking release of Pakistanis detained in Bagram jail of Afghanistan.

Earlier, a deputy attorney general told the court that the jail was controlled by the US administration and Pakistan could not interfere in their policy. He said the government could only initiate correspondence with jail authorities.

Sultana Noon of Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) had filed the petition contending that at least 141 Pakistani citizens were detained at the Bagram prison.

JPP counsel Sarah Belal argued that the Pakistan government had not been taking any steps for the release and repatriation of its citizens imprisoned in the jail. She asked the court to direct the government to submit statistics of the imprisoned citizens.

Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah directed the Foreign Ministry to submit details of the Pakistani citizens detained in Bagram jail and cases against them. Hearing was adjourned till Oct 27.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2016