SIALKOT: Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Finance Sialkot Syeda Amina Maududi has said that it is a crime to employ minors in houses, shops, industries, kilns and workshops saying that children should not be in any place other than school during school hours.
She expressed these views while addressing the participants in an awareness meeting of the district vigilance committee for anti-human trafficking/bonded labour.
Deputy Director Labor Muhammed Tayyab Virk, SDPO Muhammed Tariq, Deputy Director Social Welfare Sharif Ghumman, members of the committee Mirza Abdul Shakoor, Ashfaq Nazar and people belonging to different social organisations participated.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Finance said that in order to protect minors from forced labour and exploitation, every member of society will have to play its role and help them in every possible way. She said that kilns and workshops would be inspected and if minor children of the kiln workers were present at the kilns during school hours, cases would be registered under the Bonded Labor Act against the kilns.
Similarly, action will also be taken against individuals and groups involved in human trafficking inside or outside the country, she added.
The role of non-governmental organisations in this regard was crucial, she added.
Mirza Abdul Shakoor gave a detailed briefing to the participants on the topic of bonded labor and human trafficking.
He said that as long as citizens were not aware that the lives of their loved ones were in danger if they go abroad illegally, they would continue to fall prey to the mafia. He said that the people of Sialkot were ready to cooperate fully with the state institutions in a systematic manner to eradicate child labor.