Children forced into hard labour

JALALABAD (PAN): A large number of children continue to be forced into hard labour in eastern Nangarhar province, the labour and social affairs director acknowledged on Saturday.

Addressing a gathering marking International Children’s Day in Jalalabad, Hakimullah Sherzad said hundreds of children were daily pushed into heavy work at the Torkham dry port and brick kilns in Surkhrod district.

“We have made a lot of efforts to address the issue of child labour, but still many minors continue to face various problems, including financial woes,” Sherzad added.

He said 10 juvenile training centres had been established in Nangarhar in cooperation with some aid-giving organisations. Around 2,500 children were currently being trained at these centres, he added.

“We have 18 kindergartens in Nangarhar where hundreds of children are engaged,” the official said, adding 1,800 children belonging to poor families received monthly stipends.

Children working at the Torkham dry port and in brick kilns in the Surkhrod have been provided with education facilities, he said.

He acknowledged all these facilities were not enough and many children remained deprived of education and other basic needs of life.

Deputy governor Mohammad Hanif Gardiwal said the provincial labour, social affairs, martyrs and disabled department had made praiseworthy efforts to address the issue of child labour, but the efforts had not be sufficient. He suggested more work should be done with regard to alleviating the plight of children forced into hard works.

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