About Rs 100.59 billion budget proposals sent by the Social Welfare Ministry to the Finance Division lacks the allocation for orphanages. Sources told this scribe here on Saturday that the ministry has shortage of funds to built orphanages for deprived street children.
Proper legislation will also be required to pick the street children from the roads and rehabilitate them in the child welfare centers as the poor parents of street children push them to beg on the roads, they added. In Islamabad children of 'katchi abadis' were seen standing on roads cleaning the cars, picking stuff from garbage and girl children begging on the roads, they said.
Pakistan is signatory to convention on child rights. However children belonging to poor segment of the society are compelled to work as child labourers to support their families, they said. The Finance Division has approved only Rs 2.923 million for the child welfare center in 'Hummak' and the shortfall is Rs 0.492 million.
Child labourers remain deprived of higher education and face hard core labour at mechanical shops, working as vendors, selling flowers on the roadside and serving in the local hotels, unfortunately this is the future of Pakistan and the government has deprived them of education, health and basic necessitates of life.