Daily Times

Sir: Many people in Pakistan constantly talk about the importamnce of our large youth population and how the young generation will lead the country to a brighter future. However, while this might certainly be the case, this can only happen if we support our children through education and health programs, as well as keep them safe from the evils of this world.

Over the past few years, Pakistan has been rocked by quite a few child abuse scandals, primarily in Kasur, Punjab. The cases came to light after the regrettable case of Zainab made the news. Countless other poor souls like her would have had to suffer in silence had this one case not attracted attention in the media, and after the shocking revelations from the Kasure child abuse scandal, people all over the country demanded that more should be done for the welfare of our children. Yet in the months since, no concrete efforts have been made to reduce the number of such abuse cases in the future.

With a new government in power, it is now up to them to ensure that actual legislation is drafted that outlines stringent punishments for the perpetrators of such crimes, as well as  ensures that the general public is aware of the dangers iof child abuse, so that they can better protect their children from this scourge.

HAIDER ALI

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, October 21^st 2018.