ABBOTTABAD: The use of toy guns damaged beyond recovery the eyesight of at least six children and caused injuries to 30 others between one to 12 years of ages in Abbottabad during the Eid days, according to a report compiled by a local NGO, Right to Live.

Talking to mediapersons here on Saturday, the chairman of the NGO, Mohammad Bilal, and head of the eye department at Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad, Dr Zulfiqar said, that use of toy guns had resulted in injuries to the eyes of many children in the district. They said that eyes of six children were damaged and there was no chance of recovery of their eyesight.

They said that the children below age of one year had also received cuts and shots in the face owing to use of toy guns. Some children are also being treated in the surgery department of Ayub Medical Complex Abbottabad with minor cuts they suffered due to use of toy guns during the Eid days.

The NGO chairman asked the parents not to buy their children toy guns and appealed to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker chief minister to take stern action against the sellers of toy guns in the province.

He also demanded a nationwide campaign through print and electronic media about the hazards of the use of toy guns.

He said that use of toy guns could also lead children to develop violent tendencies in the future.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2018