Universal Children Day observed: ‘Steps taken to check child labour’

FAISALABAD: Deputy Commissioner Salman Ghani on Monday said that drastic steps had been taken to protect children from exploitation, labour, abuse and discrimination.
He was talking to the participants of the walk held in connection with the Universal Children Day. The walk was jointly organised by district administration, Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Child Rights Movement and Alaf Ailan of Pakistan. It was led by the DC. MNA Begum Khalida Mansoor, MPAs Madiha Rana and Dr Najma Afzal, Child Protection and Welfare Bureau District Manager Ulfat Abbas, District Health Officer Headquarter Dr Asfand Yar, Special Education District Officer Ch Abdul Hameed, Child Rights Movement Coordinator Nida Maqbool, Child Rights Protection Committee MCF Chairperson Farzana Chaudhry, Girls Guide Coordinator Amna Ihsan, Rana Wajid of Rotary Club, Rubina Mirza of Lagan Foundation, Alaf Ailan Pakistan Coordinator Asif Mughal, Tahir Iqbal of Lyallpur Development Organisation and representatives of civil society and other officers also participated in the walk. The children of Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, SOS village, Children Blub, Apna Ghar, Special Education and different government schools participated in the walk. The walk started from Deputy Commissioner Complex and culminated at District Council Chowk. DC Salman Ghani said that the children were the precious gift of Allah who should be treated with lots of care and love. He said that the district administration was taking various steps for the welfare and betterment of the children.
“Special attention is being given on the rehabilitation of the needy children to provide them basic needs, including education, food, clothes and health. We should reaffirm our pledge to secure them from the difficulties and hardships of the society.” He appreciated the role of NGOs working for the protection of children rights, saying district administration will give all out support to them in this regard. MNA Begum Khalida Mansoor said that proper guidance was must for the better growth of a child, as the children were like wet clay and can be molded in any way. “Apart from enjoying on the World Children Day, we should not forget that huge population of our children is facing different problems and we all should do combine efforts for their betterment. MPAs Dr Najma Afzal and Madiha Rana said that children were the prime concern of the government and various welfare policies were being adopted to make children useful citizens of the nation.
Meanwhile, under the arrangements of Social Welfare Department, a colourful ceremony was held at Parveen Shakir Auditorium in connection with the World Children Day. Former MPA Khawaja M Islam, Management Committee Chairperson Anjum Safdar, Social Welfare Director M Shahid Rana, Deputy Director Chaudhry M Ashraf, Private Schools Alliance Chairman Sadaqat Hussain Lodhi, officers of Social Welfare from different divisions of province, students of Pak Maktab Schools of Faisalabad, Lahore, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi and Dera Ghazi Khan, teachers, representatives of NGO’s, women from different walks of life and a large number of children were also present in the ceremony.