GUJRAT: Punjab Police, with the help of Sindh Police as well Pakistan Railways, caught four runaway boys from Gujrat’s Islam Nagar area from a Karachi-bound train at Nawab Shah Railway Station.

The boys, aged between 16 and 18 years who were friends, had left their homes around a week ago.

They were identified as Hammad, Ahmed Raza, Muhammad Muneer and Muneeb Asif.

An official of Gujrat police told Dawn that the parents approached District Police Officer Akhtar Farooq in an open court, complaining that their sons had left the houses and did not return the whole night and the families did not know their whereabouts.

The DPO ordered the police to check the safe city cameras and the boys were spotted at the Gujrat Railway Station from where they all boarded a Karachi-bound train. The DPO then approached the senior officials of the railway and Sindh Police and shared the pictures and other data with them.

The boys were caught by the railways and Sindh Police at Nawab Shah Railway Station where they were initially offloaded and then sent to Karachi in police custody. Their parents later reached Karachi and brought the boys back home. Police said the boys had first collected some money and had a plan to reach Karachi to later cross the Taftan border; however, they had not connected with any human trafficking network.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026