ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Friday constituted a Special Task Force for uplift and mainstreaming of street children and bonded labour.

According to the decision reached at a meeting held here, the task force will be headed by MNA Nafeesa Inayatullah Khattak.

The meeting discussed issues about uplift and mainstreaming of street children and bonded labour. The meeting discussed ways and means to bring street children and bonded labour into the mainstream by providing them good education, health, vocational training and microfinance facilities.

After a detailed discussion, it was decided that a task force would be formed which would come up with a proper mechanism to tackle the issue within a month.

Speaking on the occasion, the speaker said the issue of street children and bonded labour could not be resolved unless there was proper identification of the problem and the existing laws and best international practices were studied in detail, said a press release of the NA Secretariat.

Mr Qaiser directed participants of the discussion to engage the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division, Navtec and other organisations working on street children and bonded labour in the work of the task force for their valuable inputs. He urged them to translate the legislature’s resolve into practical steps for resolving the problems faced by street children as well as bonded labourers.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2020