ISLAMABAD: Civil society representatives on Friday demanded the government to provide justice to children of the Kasur incident.

Last week, a gang of criminals was busted which was involved in child abuse cases in Ganda Singh Wala area of Kasur. About 400 videos were made of 280 minor victims by a gang of 25 suspects. The victims’ parents were blackmailed and forced to pay hundreds of thousands of rupees.

During a press conference at National Press Club on Friday, Coordinator, Child Rights Movement, Noorul Islam said the federal and provincial governments should not forget the Kasur incident and ensure legislation for the rights of children.

“Pakistan has ratified the Child Rights Convention in 1990 but despite passage of 25 years, legislation could not be carried out to protect children’s rights,” he said.

“The government should also propose punishments through legislation. Protection should be provided to victims of Kasur incident and culprits should be arrested as soon as possible,” Mr Noorul Islam said.

“Moreover the government should ensure that victims are not pressurised,” he said.

Other speakers said steps should be taken to provide counseling to the victims. They said media and political personalities should ensure self respect of the victims. They also appealed to the media to create awareness in the society so that such incidents are not repeated.

Later, the civil society activists gathered at D Chowk where they staged a protest to express solidarity with the victims of the Kasur incident.

Human rights activist Farzana Bari, while talking to Dawn, said the government should carry out legislation on children rights and ensure its implementation.

“Although the federal ombudsman and some other departments take notice of news published in newspapers, there is no child rights commission in Pakistan,” she said.

“We gathered there to ensure that the children of Kasur are not ignored by the government,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2015

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