RAZI Gul, 12, after day’s scavenging, spends his night along with four other friends at a cabin near general bus terminal on GT Road in Peshawar. Two years ago, he had run away from his home in Haripur when his father became a heroin addict.

“My father used to beat me severely for not being able to bring him heroin or money. He also beat my mother and sometime my eight sisters and brothers. One day, I decided to run away and a bus drove me to Peshawar. I scavenge all the daylong for reusable items and if I don’t then I sleep with truckers to get some money to feed my belly. I miss my mom but…,” he narrated with his eyes welled up.

The horrible story of Razi Gul is writ large on the innocent face of every child struggling with life in the most hostile environment. Maheen Jan, 14, has similar woeful tale to share. He said that his parents would always quarrel with each other on petty issues. He said that his parents’ bitter relations forced him to leave his home three years ago.

“I work at a teashop on Ring Road from where I get Rs50 per day. Sometime I accompany my friends to Karkhano Market for smuggling hashish for truck drivers. I spend my night with owner of a roadside restaurant. He pays me for pleasure but most often not. At times, I feel I should commit suicide as life seems worthless for children like me,” said Maheen Jan.

According to experts, children grown up today in a hostile environment can become a potential threat for the society tomorrow. Children become tools in the hands of different anti-social mafias if due protection is not provided to them.

They say that these mafias use unprotected children for serving their own ulterior motives including drugs trafficking, smuggling, beggary, street crimes and home robberies. Many children from age group of six to 14 undergo child labour and sexual abuse.

Survey reports suggest that there is a sharp increase every year in the ‘on the street children’ [those children, who come on the streets at daytime and go back to their homes at night] and ‘of the street children’ [those, who have no shelter].

Said Afzal, expert on child rights, told this scribe that most studies showed teenagers had been used in terror activities. He said that unattended children were prone to multiple social hazards and insecurities. He said that unfortunately KP government was not serious about child rights and had not been taking steps to strengthen already existing institutions including ‘provincial child projection and welfare commission’.

Expert says incidents of child abuse and domestic violence are on the rise in KP

Mr Afzal said that incidents of child abuse and domestic violence had been ever increasing in the province. “KP government’s own project ‘state children’ a brainchild of Reham Khan, also failed to give positive results. If the child rights issue is not taken seriously, the condition will go to point of no return,” he added.

A survey, conducted by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), reported that there were around 8,000 street children and 15, 000 children were involved in child labour in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Jehanzeb Khan, regional manager of Sparc, told this scribe that survey regarding street children and child labour had been conducted by a local child rights organisation way back in 2002. He said that the latest figures could rise several times higher if a government-sponsored survey was carried out to know the gravity of the issue.

He said that his organisation provided free food and counselling to about 300 ‘of the street children’ and also offered different services, reunification with their families and help to enrol them in schools. He said that the alarming issue of street children would cast the worst impact on the society if it was not dealt with proper care. He stressed the need for conducting an authentic survey on the street children and child labour so that related institutions could work on the issue in its true perspective.

Prof Erum Irshad, former chairperson of department of psychology, University of Peshawar, said that children grown up in unattended and unprotected environment posed a major threat to the society. She said that she was part of a counselling programme when Reham Khan, former wife of PTI chief Imran Khan, initiated the project of safeguarding street children but the programme was shelved without any follow-up.

“Every child grows up with whatever is going around him/her. If good things are not transferred to them with better parental care and guidance, then society should get ready for the worst consequences,” said Ms Irshad.

Prof Khadim Hussain said that KP government should launch an integrated project for taking various initiatives to protect child rights for their upbringing, healthcare, education and career counselling. He said that children were the most vulnerable segment of society.

Mr Hussain said that huge budget on the pattern of Punjab and Singh provinces should be allocated for the purpose. He said that an unprotected child meant an insecure and a bleak future. “Positive things couldn’t be expected from youth grown up in such hostile conditions,” he added.

A senior official, when contacted, said that provincial government was serious about street children and child rights in general. He said that around 27, 000 cases of child rights violation falling into different categories had been registered with the child protection and welfare commission since May 2011 to 2016. He said that 90 per cent cases had been addressed.

“Yes, we have serious financial constraints for the last eight months. Even our employees have not received salaries. The government is supposed to release Rs10 million to the commission,” said the official.

‘Zamung Kor’ a Model Institute for the State Children (MISC) spread over 36 kanals, located on Nasapayan Road in Peshawar, was made functional in October 2016 to rehabilitate around 1,000 street children according to the vision of PTI chief Imran Khan.

The institute was launched with a vision ‘to create an equitable and conducive environment for the disenfranchised, destitute and vulnerable children from the most socially and economically challenged segment of the society, and afford these state children equal-opportunity to excel with their God-endowed potential.’

Retired Major Harris Khan Khattak, the director of MISC, told this scribe that currently his institution housed about 128 children of four to eight year age group. He said that government released Rs157 million out of Rs400 million grant in-aid to MISC.

“Our mission is to achieve target of 1,000 each male and female children as per the government vision. The MISC provides shelter, food, medical care, education and social protection to destitute children,” said Mr Khattak.

He said that Zamung Kor took the responsibility to ensure all possible measures and steps for the betterment of street children and other less privileged juveniles.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017