President Alvi calls for coordinated steps for stopping the incidents of kidnapping & torture of children

ISLAMABAD, Aug 24 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday was briefed on the implementation of Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act.

The briefing was attended by Secretary Human Rights and officials of Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency. Amin Ansari, father of Zainab Ansari, also attended the meeting.

The president called for coordinated steps for stopping the incidents of kidnapping and torture of children. He underlined the need for raising awareness to stop the incidents of disappearance of children.

“Awareness is needed to be provided to parents and teachers about protection of children and for saving them from disappearance,” he added.

President Dr. Arif Alvi said strong coordination was very important among the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders. There was a need to create a system of effective coordination between the provincial police departments and relevant institutions, he said, adding police had a critical role to play to stop incidents of disappearance of children and their early recovery.

He asked the police to ensure registration of cases of disappearance and kidnapping of children. He said suggestions should be sought from non-governmental organizations in a consultative meeting to improve the system regarding reporting about disappearance of children.

The president welcomed the establishment of Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA) in Islamabad, saying it would help in timely search of children and exchange of information.

President Alvi was briefed about the Zainab Alert Act, mandate of the agency and its performance.

It was told that the agency was working in coordination with all stakeholders and with the help of Zainab Alert complaints about disappearance of 2153 children were registered.

Some 1247 children were successfully searched while 430 reports about disappearance were fake. Complete action was taken on 1837 complaints while 319 complaints were being looked into. Efforts were also afoot to improve coordination between the federal and provincial departments.