CM Mahmood Khan launches mobile app to help recover missing kids

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has formally launched “Mera Bacha Alert”, a mobile phone application developed to help people and relevant departments in recovery of missing children in the province.

The app was launched at a ceremony at Chief Minister’s Secretariat, said a handout. Advisor to CM on merged districts and spokesperson of provincial government Ajmal Wazir, IGP Naeem Khan, PMRU Director Muhammad Fawad and others attended the ceremony.

The application is a recent addition to the already available Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Citizens Portal and would also be included in Pakistan Citizen Portal.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister appreciated the efforts of Performance Management and Reforms Unit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in developing the application and said it would not only help recover the missing children but would also help discourage unpleasant incidents regarding children in the province.

“It is a priority of the government to ensure protection of children. Mera Bacha Alert application is a golden step in this regard,” he added.

The chief minister was briefed in details about the preparation of the application, its mechanism and features.

It was told that the idea of the application came in reaction to various cases of child abuse.

The application is providing complete mechanism for the parents to register a report if their child goes missing. They will be able to add a picture of missing child along with his/her attributes.

The application would generate alerts and SMS would be sent to the district police officer, RPO, IGP and chief secretary.

All the details including registration of FIR, start of investigation, dispatching of team, evidence collection and completion of investigation would appear on the dashboard of the district police officer.

The application will also help in developing a directory of all the cases of missing children at provincial level and could be monitored by the chief minister and chief secretary as well.

Through public web portal, directory of missing/found children and contact directory of all police stations and Child Protection Centers would also be available.

Furthermore, integration with Police Call Centers and Safe City authorities, dedicated access to Edhi and other Child Protection Centres is also ensured in this application.