Thousands Children Gone Missing in Karachi, Pakistan in 2013

Out of the 2,736 children who went missing in Karachi last year, FIRs of only 173 were registered at different police stations, as mentioned in an annual report on missing children by a nongovernmental organization.

"If a child (under 18) goes out of contact with family or guardians, he or she is considered as a missing child," said Muhammad Ali, head of Roshni Helpline, quoting the meaning of a missing child from the Sindh Child Protection Act, 2013 and the United Nation's Convention on Child Rights (UNCRC).

Based on the civil society group, about 2,736 children went missing within the jurisdictions of 114 police stations in the city in 2013. The police recorded 984 complaints but had included 811 of them as no cognizable cases and later registered FIRs of only 173 missing children.

Ali mentioned the data in the report was also gathered from mosques as the "law enforcement did not record every case that being brought to them."


Around 1,113 announcements of missing children were made in mosques in various areas. "Mosques were the parents' first choice for making reports to plead for the recovery of their children," said Ali.

According to the report, among the missing children in 2013, around 65.25 percent were boys, while 34.75 per cent were young women. Most of the children belonged to the six to 14 years' age bracket. The report says the most vulnerable areas, with the highest number of children reported missing, and was Taimoria, Mobina Town, Jamshed Quarter, Mehmoodabad and Aziz Bhatti. These areas comprise slums and narrow alleyways. Afterwards, the police neglected to take any concrete actions to rescue the children. It had been mostly the efforts of the children's families that helped recover 312 such children, bringing the recovery rate to a mere 17 percent.

"It is unfortunate the law enforcement do not take quick action when a complaint of a child's disappearance is brought to them. They make excuses and delay the process," lamented Ali. "Once they act, the child has been moved to a remote place, away from the parents reach." The organization comes with a four-digit number, 1138, where families may immediately report incidents missing children. "There is no other complaint cell which records cases. Our service registers complaints and connects parents to the relevant departments."