UNICEF to launch several projects to curb child abuse in Pak

Lahore, Feb. 15 (ANI): In order to curb the disturbing rise in child abuse cases in Pakistan, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has decided to launch different projects in collaboration with the local community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

UNICEF Local Officer Shamshad Qureshi said that a detailed plan to deal with the issue of paedophilia would be released within a couple of months.

"The lack of proper law enforcement, negligence of parents, lack of awareness among the children and the society as a whole remain the major reasons for continued occurrence of child abuse," the Daily Times quoted Qureshi, as saying.

He pointed out that the reasons for child abuse in Pakistan were different from those in the West.

According to him, major factors for paedophilia in Pakistan were the easy access of people to children due to the negligence of parents, presence of psychological disorders among people due to late marriages and lack of opportunities to satisfy their physical demands.

He added that concerned sectors had their hopes pinned on the National Child Protection Bill, which had been proposed two years back, but been facing continuous delays ever since.

Meanwhile, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said that the provincial government was planning on taking strict action against child abusers and "there is also a proposal that they may be tried under Section 780(a) of the Anti-terrorism Act".

He urged all parents to be more responsible as it was not possible for the government to be able to curb incidents of child abuse alone. (ANI)