KARACHI - Due to persistent rise in poverty, people are forced to sell out their children because they find it almost impossible to feed them. 'Purchase my children because being sick and unemployed, I cannot afford to feed them", requested Lalan Lashari, a resident of village Mohammad Bux Laghari, who has brought his five minor sons and 3-year-old daughter Kawish. Surprisingly many families rushed to purchase the children but Lalan Lashari said that the District Coordination Officer would fix the price. In the due course of time, hundreds of citizens gathered to show sympathy with him and provide flour and other essentials. Unfortunately, the atrocious trend of selling children is on the rise in the province. A few months ago, a destitute woman, Ayesha Malik, brought her children for sale in Hyderabad. The rising poverty, unemployment and price-hike have made the life of poor miserable and the government has badly failed in mitigating their hardships through providing social security package. It is the first and foremost responsibility of government to provide social security and legal protection to the children of the country. Simultaneously, parents are supposed to provide care and respectable treatment to their children. "Trade of children is spreading like a menace in the society and it is the need of the hour to discourage this practice and a holistic approach should be adopted to provide social security to vulnerable families." said Salam Dharejo, the Regional Manager, SPARC, Karachi. Sale of children is a crime and the parents, involved in this inhuman practice should be punished in accordance with the law. In this regard, state is obligated to ensure safe and secure environment for children through phasing out new protection mechanisms for them. While, state is also accountable to ensure children's rights enshrined in United Nation's Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC), he added. Keeping in view the increasing violation of fundamental rights of children, Society for the Protection of the Rights of Children (SPARC) demanded the government, civil society organizations and parents to come forward and condemn the victimisation of children. It is time to raise voice for the rights of children and mobilise society to provide protection to innocents from falling the victims of harsh circumstances.