HYDERABAD, Jan 16: Participants of a media consultation on Wednesday urged political parties and the government to prepare a joint strategy to curb the incidence of bonded labour in Sindh.

The conference on ‘the state of bonded-labour in Sindh’ was organised by the Society for the protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) here.

The meeting observed an alarming increase in bonded labour and the rise in violence against helpless labour in recent years.

The meeting was conducted in Qasimabad and was attended by more than 40 journalists and social workers to highlight various issues related to bonded labour in the province.

Akhtar Baloch of Sparc said that more work ought to have been done during the past years on the issue of children’s rights.

Presenting a detailed report on the issue, he said that the Bonded Labour Abolition Act of 1992 had abolished all types of forced labour, but excesses against workers were continuing in Sindh and Punjab, especially among kiln workers and the agriculture sector.He said that although several private jails had been raided in various parts of Sindh, the issue had not been resolved in several areas of Pakistan.

He said that Sparc believed that the situation continued to exist because of non-implementation of human rights-related laws, adding that the organisation was trying to coordinate with other NGOs to eliminate bonded labour in the country.

Mustafa Baloch, one of the meeting’s participants, said that media needed to highlight violations of human rights and the media needed to address the issue regularly.

Enumerating social problems that encouraged bonded labour, he stressed the need for social changes and advocated equitable distribution of resources.

He said, if a state passes on the benefits to deprived segment of the society, changes will Kashif Bajeer of Sparc criticised the government and accused civil servants of working for people perpetuating bonded labour and ignoring the victims.

Journalists Kanwal Sindhi, Wasand Thari, Akash Santorai and Ambreen Hisbani also addressed the meeting.