LAHORE, Aug 29: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has urged the government to put holistic policies in place to address the root causes of child labour and sale of children by impoverished families so that the menace could be eradicated once and for all.

Commending the rescue of around 500 child jockeys from United Arab Emirates and bringing them home for reuniting with their families, in a statement issued here on Monday, HRCP Chairperson Asma Jehangir said the trafficking of children and their plight while working overseas had been a source of grave concern for rights activists. As such the news that all such children would be brought home was a source of great relief, she added.

She said the commission appreciated the efforts being made by the government and international agencies to identify, locate and bring back thousands of Pakistani children thought to be still enslaved as camel jockeys.

Ms Jahangir said the government and international agencies involved in the efforts for rescue of children should cover all categories of children working as forced labour and those who had ‘disappeared’. — Reporter