Sindh Social Welfare Minister Mir Tariq Talpur informed the provincial assembly on Tuesday that his department has rescued 1,600 children from beggars over the past five years.
Talpur said the social welfare department operates three centres in the province, located in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur, where shelterless children up to the age of 17 years are accommodated.
The minister was responding to various written and supplementary questions during the question hour related to his department. He said the children’s helpline service remains operational round the clock, adding that rescued children are placed in protection homes after being recovered.
Replying to a question, Talpur said any child between the ages of five and 17 years found working falls under the definition of child labour. He added that his department works in close coordination with the labour department throughout the year to combat child labour.
He said children are provided all the necessary facilities at the social welfare department’s three centres, including food and education. Whenever a complaint relating to children is received, the helpline takes immediate action, he added.
The minister informed the PA that his department also runs a shelter home with a capacity of 200 children. He said children at the shelter home are provided with complete education, and are cared for in every possible manner.
Responding to another question, he said the cabinet had decided to cancel the licences of NGOs. No NGO registration has been cancelled during the past two years, he added. He also clarified that the issue of child trafficking does not fall within his department’s jurisdiction. At the outset of the session, the House offered Fateha for the martyrs of the Army Public School, Peshawar, incident, and the East Pakistan debacle of 1971.
Presenting a resolution on the 1971 tragedy of East Pakistan, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA Ijazul Haq paid tribute to the Biharis who made sacrifices alongside the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Home and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said that there is no question of opposing the resolution, adding that the martyrs of East Pakistan deserve respect and salute. The PA later adopted the resolution.
MQM-P MPA Taha Ahmed presented another resolution calling for financial autonomy of local governments to ensure democratic stability. Planning & Development Minister Jam Khan Shoro said the constitution’s Article 140-A, calling for the LGs’ empowerment, had been introduced by the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Shoro said that a Supreme Court judgement on the matter also exists, adding that Article 140-A clearly states that it is for the provincial government to determine the extent of powers to be given to the local councils.
He said that in Sindh, institutions such as the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Water and Sanitation Agency have been handed over to the mayors, and proposed that all stakeholders sit together to decide the quantum of powers to be devolved to the municipal agencies.
He stressed that legislation is the prerogative of the PA. Lanjar supported this view, saying that the issue should be resolved through mutual consultation, and that the government would take every step in the best interests of the province. He assured the House that a committee would be formed to deliberate on the matter. After receiving this assurance, the MQM-P legislator withdrew the resolution.
