112 children taken into protective custody during last two months

Rawalpindi: The Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) Rawalpindi had taken 112 neglected children into protective custody during October and November.

District Officer CPWB Rawalpindi Ali Abid Naqvi said that on the instructions of Chairperson Sara Ahmed, the rescue operation team filed 13 cases against the anti-social elements and mafia who used children in begging activities.

He further said that the children taken into protective custody were used to begging in the streets, intersections and prominent commercial centres of Rawalpindi city and were also involved in other such heinous activities.

Out of the children taken into protective custody, 45 children were involved in begging, 32 children were collecting paper and garbage, 26 children were begging under the guise of selling various items and nine children were being used in other undesirable activities.

Ali Abid Naqvi said that rescue operations were continued daily as per the schedule to take the beggar children into protective custody. According to the district officer, since January this year, a total of 788 children have been taken into protective custody from Rawalpindi.

He added that presently 71 children were under CPWB Rawalpindi Centre custody and were provided the educational, psychological, medical and recreational facilities.