KARACHI: The Sindh High Court was informed that two shelter homes were being constructed in Korangi and Malir to accommodate around 400 street children.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar directed the police to come up with a progress report on Jan 27 about the investigation of cases lodged against a mafia involved in child beggary.

When a petition seeking implementation of the Sindh Child Protection Authority Act, 2011 came up for hearing, authority director general Azeem-ur-Rehman Meo submitted that a shelter home for street children was being constructed on an area of 10 acres in Korangi, where at least 300 kids would be accommodated while another building was also being constructed in Malir to house around 100 children.

He submitted that three similar facilities were already running in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

Answering a court query, the DG said that the building in Malir had almost been completed while the work on the shelter home in Korangi would be completed in June 2021.

Court asks police to file a report about action to curb child beggary

The bench recalled that in the last hearing it had directed a DSP to submit a progress report as to what action had been taken against the mafia involved in child beggary after the SCPA chief submitted that at least 92 complaints had been forwarded to police, but no progress was made.

At the outset, SSP-South Zubair Nazeer along with other police officers submitted that an investigation was being carried out in many such cases and a progress report would be submitted on the next date of hearing.

The bench directed the police officers to file a report highlighting that in how many cases investigations had been completed and charge sheets filed and how many persons were arrested in such FIRs.

The petition was filed for implementation of the SCPA Act 2011 in the province to protect the rights of children and to save them from domestic violence and abuse.

The petitioner submitted that thousands of street children were roaming in the city and several were being used in criminal activities, begging and other anti-social activities.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2020