LAHORE: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Barrister Syed Ali Zafar has constituted an emergency committee to enquire into the rising tide of child abductions in the cities. The committee comprised of former Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman comprising Azam Nazeer Tarar, former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Abid Saqi, SCBA Punjab Vice President Tabindah Islam, SCBA Punjab executive members Badar Munir Malik and Naveed Suhail Malik. In his statement on Friday, Barrister Ali Zafar said that children are the most precious asset of the nation and at the same time the most vulnerable members of the society. He pointed out that the number of children being kidnapped was most alarming and dangerous, adding that the State of Pakistan was bound under Article 9 of the Constitution to protect the lives of its children. “It is the highest duty of the government and police to save them from harm, and if the lives of children are endangered, it can have devastating consequences on the country,” he said. According to Zafar, “Even if we ignore the cases in which children ran away from their house, the figures confirm that there were criminal gangs operating within Punjab as well as other provinces, who were kidnapping children for sexual abuse, begging, labour or trafficking.” He claimed that kidnappings of children by terrorists also cannot be ruled out, adding that it was therefore imperative that in order to protect Pakistan’s children and tackle this menace, a national task force, consisting representatives from the intelligence services of Pakistan and all police forces throughout the country, may have to be created at the federal level, which would be responsible for undertaking enquiry and investigation in cases of kidnappings, particularly where there was suspicion of some gangs or terrorists being involved. He said that the nation has woken up now on a matter that was in the closets, which is why even the Supreme Court had taken jurisdiction of the issue and summoned the police to submit a report in this regard. Barrister Zafar contacted the Punjab inspector general of police with the request to apprise the emergency committee about the facts, and to discuss the current strategy being adopted to check the kidnappings. The IG shall make a full presentation to the SCBA Committee today (Saturday) after which the SCBA would decide the next course of action, which may include becoming a party to the case in the Supreme Court and offer its suggestions for improvements in the law and order.