n the valleys and bazaars of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, childhood unfolds under constant threat. While nationwide reporting captures the scale of Pakistan’s child rights emergency, KP’s own figures reveal a sharper local crisis marked by under-reporting, weak enforcement and a culture of silence. The vulnerable children face denial of education, healthcare facilities and protection.

National vs provincial statistics

Pakistan’s 115-116 million children under 18 form nearly half its population. The NCRC-UNICEF State of Children in Pakistan 2025 records 25.15 million out-of-school children. One in three under-fives is stunted and 8.61 million aged 5-17 are in child labour. Sahil’s Numbers 2025 logged 3,630 abuse cases—an 8 percent rise from 3,364 in 2024, making it more than nine children abused daily. Girls comprised 53 percent of the victims. The Punjab accounted for 73 percent of the reports cases, Sindh 21 per cent and KP 4 per cent. That low share is attributed to massive underreporting, not relative safety.

Hidden abuse

The KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission documented 402 violations in the first six months of 2025 alone, exceeding the 392 cases of 2024. A child rights expert said, “we can’t blame the government alone. The society must play its part.” She added that there was an urgent need to engage communities, spread awareness and include religious leaders who command influence to support awareness raising efforts.” The reported victims included 286 boys, and 116 girls. The cases included 40 missing children, 26 runaways, 40 sexual abuse incidents, 17 child labour cases, 16 cases of forced beggary, 14 of corporal punishment, 13 of physical torture, seven murders and two cases of child pornography.

Sahil’s media monitoring continues to show KP contributing only around 4 percent to national statistics. However, KP police registered 350 cases under rape and sexual abuse provisions in 2024. Acquaintances remain the most frequent perpetrators. Cultural notions of honour suppress reporting, especially when boys are victims—an under-recognised pattern the commission’s male-majority figure make impossible to ignore.

Child labour

Provincial data place about 745,000 children aged 5-17 in child labour in KP, representing 9 per cent of the age group, and with 631,500 in hazardous work. Nationwide, the number stands at 8.61 million. Punjab has the heaviest absolute load. Poverty, parental unemployment and distant or inadequate schools push families to send children into fields, workshops, brick kilns and domestic service. Injury rates among working children in KP reach 57.6 per cent, higher than most other provinces. Child labour is both cause and consequence of educational exclusion, locking successive generations into the same cycle of deprivation.

Out of school

Of the 25.15 million out-of-school children nationwide, KP accounts for 4.501 million—1.887 million boys and 2.614 million girls. Girls face steeper barriers of mobility, early marriage and domestic responsibility. Violent discipline is more prevalent than elsewhere: 82.7 per cent of children experience it at home, the highest provincial rate. Corporal punishment in schools and madrassas persists despite legal restriction, driving thousands from classrooms.

Activist Imran Takkar notes that rising population, poverty, lack of facilities and low budgetary allocations keep literacy low. “Instead of sending them to schools, poor families prefer to teach skills to their children,” he observes, adding that female dropout is higher because secondary schools are often located far away and reliable transport is scarce.

Early marriage

The 2023 Census recorded 841,402 children aged 10-17 already married, widowed, divorced or separated nationwide. In KP the figure is 203,928—2.58 per cent of that age group—with girls forming 70 percent of the lot. While ICT and Balochistan set the minimum age at 18 for both sexes in 2025, KP’s proposed restraint bill remains under process. Enforcement in conservative rural districts is uneven, truncating girls’ education and exposing them to health risks and gender-based violence.

Refugee children

Nearly half of the estimated 3.6 million Afghans in Pakistan are children. In KP, they face elevated risks of trafficking, forced labour, early marriage and violence.

The deeper failure is institutional. The 2010 KP Child Protection and Welfare Act is progressive on paper. However, the enforcement capacity has lagged behind. Takkar tells The News on Sunday: “what we need is the implementation.”

Child protection courts were to meant cover all 36 districts; more than a decade later only eight are functional. The protection commission has not had a chief since 2014. Funding is slow, coordination weak and public awareness thin.

The way forward

The number of reported violations has been rising. However, it still captures only a fraction of the reality. Child labour, out-of-school rates and violent discipline remain stubbornly high. Without accelerated investment in protection systems, consistent enforcement, expanded community committees and genuine political will, the next set of figures will only worsen. Imran Takkar is calling for a comprehensive policy approach “similar to the polio eradication campaign,” uniting institutions and society. For the boys and girls of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, every day of delay is another day of rights denied.

The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist. His X handle: @Shinwar-9