MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 9: A large number of children, women and journalists held a walk on Thursday to mark the first National Children’s Day, which was celebrated throughout the country on the birth anniversary of Hakim Mohammed Said.

The walk was organized by the AJK social welfare and women development department in collaboration with a non-governmental organization — Press for Peace — and Boy Scouts Association.

AJK social welfare and women development secretary Sardar Riaz Ahmed Khan, director Sakina Bukhari and PFP coordinator Khwaja Zafar Iqbal led the walk, which began from the officers’ club hall and ended at the old civil secretariat.

Participants were holding banners and placards, inscribed with slogans that highlighted the significance of the day besides paying tributes to the late Hakim for his services for the country in general and the children in particular.

At the conclusion of the walk, a function was held and the secretary and others paid tributes to Hakim Said and appreciated the Pakistan government for declaring his birth anniversary as the National Children’s Day.

In his speech, the secretary informed the audience that the AJK government was doing whatever was within its reach to protect the children’s rights.

He referred to the law whereby the state would provide free legal assistance to juvenile offenders or victims, besides establishing separate courts for them.

The government, he said, was also working to set up a high standard school for the orphaned children.

Apart from it, a package for the wedding of orphaned girls was also under consideration, he added.

The secretary noted with pleasure that the average of school going children in Azad Kashmir was more than ninety per cent, but stressed collective efforts to create an environment where there should not be any difficulty for parents in imparting education to their children.

Mr Khan appreciated the role of print and electronic media in highlighting the children rights and other relevant issues and said a media committee would be established to provide guidance to the government regarding resolution of social issues.

The PFP coordinator said that since the principle of parity with Punjab was being followed in every department in Azad Kashmir, the AJK government should also enforce the recent announcement in the Punjab regarding provision of free education up to the 10th grade.

Sardar Zulfiqar, deputy coordinator of the NGO, said that if it was not possible for the government to extend the decision to the whole of Azad Kashmir, at least it should be applied in the areas along the Line of Control, where the sources of income had dried up and paying capacity of the residents was almost nil.

Others who spoke on the occasion, were Sakina Bukhari, Syed Arif Bahar and Sarfraz Abbasi.

A team of young artists also presented a skit on the occasion to highlight the importance of imparting education to children.