ISLAMABAD: Calling child labour one of the worst forms of modern day slavery, civil society organisations on Tuesday urged the government to take meaningful steps to abolish child labour.

The organisations met at a hotel to discuss the state of child labour and modern slavery in Pakistan in connection with Child Labour Day.

The consultation was conducted by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).

Sparc Executive Director Sadia Hussain said: “The Global Slavery Index 2016 ranked Pakistan sixth, with an estimated 2.13 million people living in conditions of slavery. This makes up for 1.1pc of the population of the country, with 62.47/100 vulnerable to modern slavery.”

“Despite the eagerness of provincial governments to enact child labour and child protection laws in recent years, the state of child labour seems to be worsening over a period of time.

“Cases of children facing abuse, torture and accidents due to hazardous working environments have become alarmingly common. This is partly owed to lacunas and weak implementation of laws, and a lack of coordination between national and provincial child protection bodies,” she said.

Child Rights Movement (CRM) representative Kashif Bajeer said according to a 2015 study by the International Labour Organisation 5.7 million 10 to 17 year olds – almost 20pc of all children in that age group – are engaged in extreme and hazardous child labour, excluding children working in informal economy.

Activist Jahanzeb Khan from CRM’s Peshawar chapter called for steps needed to ensure the implementation of existing laws.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2017