KARACHI, Jan 23: A London High Court Judge, Mr Justice Peter Singer, and a solicitor specializing in child abduction and forced marriage cases, Anne-Marie Hutchinson, undertook a two-week long goodwill visit to Pakistan.

They were here at the initiative of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London to participate in discussions and awareness-raising about the progress made in implementing the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Child Abduction.

Judge Peter Singer was of the view that this protocol supported the integrity and the welfare of children. He said that the two countries shared the fundamental principle that every decision taken concerning children should be in the child's best interest.

Mr Singer pointed out that in January and September, 2003, at high-level judicial conferences held in London and Islamabad, an agreement was concluded, which reflected the shared principles and history of the child care laws in the two countries.

The head of the Child Abduction Section in Foreign Office in London, Tony Clemen, who also accompanied Justice Singer and Ms Hutchinson, said that his section processed case of abduction from the UK to all the countries around the world.

He said the section always acted for welfare of children by providing assistance and guidance to their parents through a network and contacts in the UK and through its high commissions and embassies around the world.

"Unfortunately, we see more cases of child abduction in Pakistan than in any other country, and that is why this protocol is so important for us because it is working for the welfare of the children. Because it is not legally enforceable, its success is based on widespread understanding and awareness of it", he added.

He said that the Foreign Office did a lot of work for raising the profile of the protocol both, in the UK and Pakistan, through conferences, leaflets, media and through such visits.

Mr Clemen said that he had travelled all over Pakistan meeting a wide range of people and explaining and raising the profile of the protocol. He said that in the last year or so, his office saw about 50 cases of child abduction from the UK to Pakistan. Of these, 31 fell under the protocol, and the remaining had been treated by the courts in the spirit of the protocol. -APP