Lahore:

Until date, Pakistan has not been able to devise formal legislation on the exercise of child admission, despite the fact that a significant number of married couples are given temporary custody of abandoned children every year.

As a result, there is no effective monitoring system to prevent the abuse of adopted children who are orphans twice in the light of unreported exploitation, abuse and neglect that sounds silently behind closed doors.

According to Syed Kausar Abbas, head of the Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO), there is a need to devise legislation on monitoring of children given under temporary custody.

“The authority assigning temporary custody should form a committee that can go to the adoptive families of the house and personally assess the conditions of these children who risk taking advantage. It is possible for a family to adopt a child from Punjab and another from Sindh due to the inaccessibility of digital data on the temporary custody of children.

Abbas’ concerns are not unfounded considering the provincial’s bleak violence record against children. Tall from Sahil, an organization that focused on abuse and exploitation of children reveals that 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported nationwide in the first six months of 2024, of which 862 involved sexual abuse. Girls accounted for 59% of all reported cases and emphasized the gender -determined nature of the crisis.

“In the absence of an effective surveillance system, there are concerns that adopted children, especially girls, can be forced to trafficking or other abhorrent activities on the dark web. There is no mechanism to control the condition of the adopted child who could be exposed to all forms of injury,” claimed Rashida Qureshi, a gender expert and coordinator at Children’s Advocacy Network Pakistan.

In January 2023, a body of trade in trade was uncovered in Rawalpindi after a 14-year-old boy who came from Lahore was found with his kidney removed in an underground laboratory. According to statistics obtained from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), an increase of 336 percent was reported in the case of cyber child pornography in the last six years in Punjab, the country’s largest province.

Iftikhar Mubarak, head of search for justice, revealed that although section 28 of the Punjab Destites and neglected Children ACT, 2004, played an important role in care, protection and rehabilitation of poor and neglected children, the surveillance system was still ineffective.

“A caseworker or social worker must be appointed to monitor any child adopted while the guardians must be obliged to present the child from time to time. This will allow the judges to personally assess the child’s condition, development and general well -being. However, the process must be designed and implemented in such a way that the child does not suffer from emotional distress The child is taken abroad.

On the other hand, Sarah Ahmed, chairman of the Child Protection Agency, claimed and head of the Provincial Parliament Committee for Children’s Rights, that child protection rights provided temporary custody of abandoned children.

“The couple adopting the child will be bound to act with the child on the date determined by the court. They are asked about the health and care of the child. If the child is able to tell himself, information is taken from them separately and a report is prepared and placed in parental responsibility for the child. claimed Ahmed.

“Until date, there has been no such case where a child given in temporary custody is not taken care of, and custody has had to be revoked,” claimed Ahmed, who revealed that 230 abandoned children were adopted by childless couples in the last five years, of which 50 children were adopted by Pakistani families who lived abroad, “she added.”