Sir: Hub is an industrial city in Balochistan, which links the provinces with Sindh. People from across the country work here in various fields to earn their livelihood, however, you can also see a lot of children working here as well, particularly in large scale factories. Authorities are yet to take any steps in order to stop this unlawful practice. Child labour is a curse for this country, and a crime against humanity.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that there are approximately 230 million children worldwide who have fallen prey to child labour. They are mostly between the ages of 5 to 16, and can be found in almost every field of work.
Unfortunately, Pakistan is amongst those countries where child labour has been a common practice for quite some time. This problem is not only evident in Hub City, it can also be found across the country, as there is a large population of people in Pakistan that are currently living under the poverty line. This forces them to utilize their children as extra wage earners, robbing them of their childhood.
As per article 25(A) of the constitution, “The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all the children under the age of sixteen”, yet our government and the concerned authorities have failed to even grant this basic right to the children in this country. Additionally, the education system in our country is lacking of the funds and resources required to tackle this problem, enabling this issue to go on unchecked.
If we hope to see a prosperous and successful Pakistan in the future, then it is imperative that the education sector is given the support it needs and that the scourge of child labour should be banished from the country once and for all. This is why I wanted the government and concerned departments to take note of this issue, and to take concrete steps to eradicate this problem.
Imran Umer
Hub City
Published in Daily Times, June 5th 2018.