Child protection and labour laws, along with their enforcement mechanisms, become pertinent for safeguarding street children based on the type of work or activity they engage in, or if they require specific care to shield them from abuse and exploitation. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, enacted in 2010, delegated the task of legislative reforms concerning children’s rights to provincial governments.
National Level
Constitution of Pakistan, 1973
The Constitution of Pakistan is the supreme national law and guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens (Articles 8-28) including children. The Constitution contains specific prohibitions against torture and for elimination of all forms of exploitation under Article 3. Article 11(1) prohibits slavery and declares that no law shall permit trafficking in persons. Article 11(3) prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 in factories, mines, or hazardous work. Article 14 declares the right of citizens to dignity inviolable, but that is mostly affected in the case of street-connected children who experience stigma and multiple violations. Article 15 guarantees freedom of movement to every citizen throughout Pakistan to reside and settle in any part of the country.
Several other constitutional articles further safeguard street children’s well-being. Article 25(1) establishes equality before the law and equal protection for all citizens, and Article 25A mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 5 to 16. Articles 34 and 35 promote the full participation of women and the protection of families, mothers, and children. Articles 37 and 38 address social justice and economic welfare, respectively, with Article 37(e) aiming for just working conditions and protecting children and women from unsuitable employment, and Article 38(d) obligating the state to provide basic needs for all citizens, including vulnerable children.
Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
The Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (PPC) is the main criminal code of Pakistan. There are several provisions in the PPC that are relevant to street children. Section 82 establishes that a child under the age of ten cannot be held criminally responsible for any offense, recognizing their limited understanding and capacity for intent. This provision acts as a safeguard, ensuring that very young street children, who might unknowingly engage in petty crimes for survival, are not subjected to the formal criminal justice system. Furthermore, Section 328 makes it an offense for a parent or guardian to abandon a child under the age of twelve, directly addressing the core issue of neglect that often leads to children living on the streets.
Moreover, the amended Section 328-A, introduced in 2016, broadens the scope of protection by criminalizing any form of “cruelty to a child,” including intentional bodily harm, ill-treatment, neglect, and abandonment that causes physical or psychological injury. This provision provides a more comprehensive route to prosecute individuals who harm or exploit street children, whether they are family members, employers, or other adults, by holding them accountable for acts of abuse and neglect that contribute to the street children’s suffering and endanger their well-being.
Federal and Provincial Level
The following section outlines the Federal and Provincial legislative frameworks governing Street Children in Pakistan.
Vagrancy laws
The Sindh Vagrancy Act, 1947, marked Pakistan’s first legal effort to address vagrancy in Sindh, however it was later superseded by the West Pakistan Vagrancy Ordinance, 1958. The ordinance offers protection to children under 14 years of age and defines a vagrant as anyone soliciting, begging or displaying injuries to gain alms publicly under Section 2(g). Section 3 directs the government to establish welfare homes for their custody, with administrators prioritizing medical care, education, and rehabilitation, especially for children. Section 7 grants the police the authority to arrest suspected vagrants and confiscate their belongings, though vagrants retain the right to a fair trial before a judge. Under Section 9, those found guilty of vagrancy by the magistrate shall be sentenced to up to three years, however, first-time offenders, especially if they are children, may be released with a warning if they or their guardian commit to ensuring good behavior and future court appearances for up to three years.
While three provinces adopted similar ordinances, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only one to have repealed the 1958 Ordinance, replacing it with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010. This is significant because the West Pakistan Vagrancy Ordinance, 1958, controversially criminalizes vagrants rather than recognizing them as victims, granting police broad powers under Section 7 to arrest and search perceived vagrants or beggars and seize their possessions without a warrant. This highlights a critical difference in how provinces approach the issue of vagrancy, particularly concerning vulnerable street children.
Child Labour Laws
All provinces and ICT regions have their own laws regulating and prohibiting child labour. In the Islamabad Capital Territory, there is the Employment of Children Act 1991, which states that a child who has not attained the age of 14 years cannot be employed in certain occupations or “workshops” The prohibition does not apply to children working in a family business. The Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Act, 2016 applies to employment or work in any establishment, and children under 15 years are prohibited to be employed in any establishment. Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2015, the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017 and the Balochistan Employment of Children (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 2021, prohibits and regulates the employment of children.
It is important to recognise that children engaged in economic activity on the street often fall outside the scope of the labour laws, as most of these laws refer to children employed by others, while children working on the street are often employed independently or by their parents. In addition to child labour laws that prohibit and regulate the employment of children mentioned earlier, there are laws that deal with the employment of children in specific sectors or industries, such as Factories, Shops and Establishments and Mines.
| Province | Legislation combating COP | Reference to Law | Explanation |
| Islamabad Capital Territory | Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Act, 2018 | Section 2(1)(t) | Defines “sexual abuse and exploitation” as inducing or coercing a child into unlawful sexual activities, encompassing child pornography, prostitution, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and the sale of children for sexual purposes. |
| Section 5(a), (b) | A child in need of protection and care includes those facing abuse or exploitation under their guardians, or those who are unattended, victims, child laborers, begging, imprisoned with their mother, or living in harmful environments. | ||
| Section 6 | Establishes an Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Advisory Board. | ||
| Section 8 | Empowers the Board to take necessary actions to fulfill the Act’s objectives, including advising the government on child protection matters, ensuring coordination, managing information systems, regulating caregiver organizations, and submitting annual reports, as well as performing other functions and delegating powers as needed. | ||
| Section 10 | Establishes Child Protection Institutions. | ||
| Section 11 | A Child Protection Institution is mandated to receive reports of children needing protection, assess their care requirements, request services, maintain case records and data, track child abusers, and perform related protective actions. | ||
| Section 16 | If a child care plan identifies a significant risk of harm, abuse, or exploitation if the child remains with their current caregiver, an immediate court application for the child’s care and placement in alternative care is mandatory, overriding Section 15 (Consent of the parents or guardian). | ||
| Section 18 | A Child Protection Officer is authorised to take an unattended child into care or remove a child from their current caregiver if there’s reasonable cause to believe the child needs care, must inform the parents/guardian immediately, place the child with a caregiver for interim care, and apply to the court for an Emergency Protection Order within 24 hours; the child cannot be returned home before an initial assessment, and removal from family cannot exceed three days without a court order in exceptional circumstances. | ||
| Punjab | Punjab Destitute Neglected Children Act, 2004 | Section 3(k) | A “destitute and neglected child” is defined as a child who is found begging, homeless, without visible means of support, or has unfit parents/guardians. This also includes children who are at risk of abuse, exploitation, child labor, disability, or are beyond parental control or abandoned. |
| Section 5 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau. | ||
| Section 16 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Unit. | ||
| Section 20 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Institutions. | ||
| Section 22 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Court. | ||
| Sindh | Sindh Children’s Act, 1955 | Section 56 | Inducing or promoting seduction, immoral behavior, or prostitution of girls under 18 years old is punishable by two years of imprisonment. |
| Section 57 | Seducing a minor (under 18) through immoral conduct is punishable by imprisonment up to two years and/or a fine. | ||
| Sindh Child Protection Authority (Amendment) Act, 2021 | Section 2(c) | A “child in need of special protection measures” encompasses any child subjected to violence, abuse, exploitation, forced labor, trafficking, drug misuse, lack of care, HIV/AIDS, who is missing or kidnapped, or a child without primary caregivers and street children. | |
| Section 3 | Mandates the government to establish the Sindh Child Protection Authority. | ||
| Section 16 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Unit. | ||
| Section 20D | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Court. | ||
| Sindh Street Children Shelter Home Act, 2018 | Section 2(3) | Defines “street children” as children who are orphans, or who have
been abandoned by their families due to any reason. |
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| Section 2(7) | Defines “Hamara Ghar” as a care facility established for street children and the availability of all relevant facilities within the premises. | ||
| Section 3 | Establishes the “Hamara Ghar” project, a public-private partnership, in two phases: initially in all divisional headquarters within five years, followed by expansion to the remaining divisions and districts. | ||
| Section 4 | Mandates the “Hamara Ghar” facility to provide comprehensive amenities for children, including education up to matriculation, residential areas, sports and recreational facilities, vocational skills training, and a basic health unit. This facility will also ensure the segregation of boys and girls, with the government assuming full responsibility for the children’s welfare, education, and health until they reach 18 years of age or become self-sufficient. | ||
| Section 5 and 8 | Establishes the Board of Directors and outlines their responsibility to administer and manage the “Hamara Ghar” project. | ||
| Section 10 | Mandates the government to make arrangements for the health insurance of the residents of Hamara Ghar. | ||
| Section 12 | Mandates the government to award fully funded scholarships to outstanding children living at Hamara Ghar for any private educational institution based in the country or abroad. | ||
| Section 16 | Dictates that in instances where the family history is unknown, the “Hamara Ghar Resident” will be officially recorded as the father’s name, or as determined by the superior judiciary and NADRA. | ||
| Section 17 | Anyone who discriminates against, harasses, or intentionally harms a resident of Hamara Ghar, or misuses the facility or its residents for unfair advantage, or otherwise violates the Act’s provisions, faces a minimum six-month imprisonment and/or a Rs.100,000 fine. | ||
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010 | Section 2(e) | Defines a “child at risk” as a child needing protection, encompassing those facing various vulnerabilities like poverty, abuse, exploitation, or lack of parental care. This includes children in specific circumstances such as homelessness, involvement in illegal activities, or those abandoned or orphaned. |
| Section 3 | Mandates the government to establish the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Commission. | ||
| Section 9 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Unit. | ||
| Section 12 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Institutions. | ||
| Section 15 | Mandates the government to establish the Child Protection Court. | ||
| Section 20 | Empowers Child Protection Officers to rescue at-risk children, below 18 years of age, requiring court presentation within 24 hours, except when the child is with a parent/guardian, in which case a court report is initially mandated, and unless the child is begging or an alleged victim of parental/guardian abuse. | ||
| Section 44 | Criminalizes non-parental caregivers who willfully harm, neglect, or expose a child to suffering, including physical assault, inadequate care, or psychological abuse, face up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to fifty thousand rupees. | ||
| Section 50 | Criminalizes the seduction of a child for sexual activity or exposure to explicit material, with penalties of up to ten years imprisonment and a two million rupee fine. This includes both completed acts and attempts. | ||
| Section 53 | Penalizes sexual abuse offenses, ranging from two to ten years imprisonment, or life imprisonment, and a fine up to five million rupees | ||
| Balochistan | Balochistan Child Protection Act, 2016 | Section 5 | Defines a child in need of protection as one experiencing or at serious risk of physical, mental, or sexual violence, neglect, maltreatment, or exploitation while under the care of a parent, guardian, or caregiver. |
| Section 6 | Mandates the government to establish a Child Protection Commission. | ||
| Section 11 | Mandates the government to establish a District Child Protection Unit in each district. |