CHILD begging, the ugliest form of child labour, is a curse on society. Ravaged by disease, crime, exploitation and drug abuse, hundreds of poor children populate Karachi’s intersections and street corners. The Sindh Child Protection Authority informed the Sindh Assembly recently that it was, in coordination with the provincial police, planning an anti-child beggary drive to rescue these children. The social welfare minister stated that as organised beggary was a multimillion-rupee racket, it was a complicated scourge to eradicate. But the government has much to answer for. First, despite beggary being illegal in Pakistan with up to three years in jail for beggars and parents of young mendicants, what propels the menace? Second, while several campaigns failed due to the absence of comprehensive data, we continue to formulate policies and initiatives based on guesswork.

The Asian Human Rights Commission’s estimates show that approximately 2.5 to 11pc of Pakistan’s population is begging; 1.2m children are on the streets of our urban centres. Hence, it is time to adopt a multidimensional rescue and rehabilitation model that resolves prime catalysts — poverty, climate crises, domestic violence, addiction, lack of education and unemployment — for the rising number of child beggars. Beggars are an ostracised social group; over 90pc of street children are sexually exploited. Authorities, in collaboration with NGOs, health and education experts, need to institute localised monitoring methods through child protection units in urban and rural areas with trained medical, security and counselling personnel. These should serve helpless families and children as contact points for security and shelter. Child beggars are not the same as destitute minors and orphans. Emotionally neglected and deprived of food, shelter, education and clothing, they are commodities in the hands of a mafia. Often, their psychosocial growth is impaired and they either become addicts or mentally ill. Every child trapped in poverty or a criminal network has to be healed for a prosperous society.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024