Daily Times

Smiles from the faces of children had been snatched by stunted growth, forced labour, absence of schools, absence of play and a broken juvenile justice system, lamented former Senator Farhatullah Babar on Monday.

Speaking at a function organized by the organisation “Save the Children” at a local hotel in Islamabad, he maintained that children were abandoned to their fate in conflict zones by a state-driven more by security paranoia rather than public welfare.

In 1990, he added, Pakistan had promised the international community to set up a child rights commission.

It had taken over 27 years to make legislation for this purpose last year, Babar noted.

Despite legislation, wailed, the Commission was not yet set up because it was not a priority of the security state.

The former senator was of the view that Pakistan had also failed to submit core documents to the UN, with regard to basic information about children.

“Neither have we made public the commitments made with the world for improving children conditions nor submitted regularly mandatory periodic reports to the UN, which serve as principal instruments to judge the condition of children,” he continued.

Babar held Pakistan responsible for badly exposing children to threats to life, limbs and liberty in armed conflict zones by not signing the international protocol. He also called for signing the protocols.

The ex-senator held the view that a security-driven state might make laws for educating children but could not inculcate values in them. This was best done by their families, particularly mothers, he maintained.

Babar called for improving the condition of women to improve the condition of children. The seminar was also addressed by members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Nafeesa Khattak and Riaz Fityana among others.