Islamabad - Lack of implementation of legislation is the major impediment in protecting vulnerable children of Pakistan, said Qazi Rafiuddin Babar, Vice Chairman Islamabad Bar Council.
Children being the most vulnerable and delicate part of the society need protection from violence, exploitation and abuse, he said, but unfortunately, millions of children suffer this violence, exploitation and abuse from all socio-economic backgrounds, across all ages, cultures and religions worldwide.
He was speaking to a seminar held here at a local hotel entitled “Loving Children by Law” jointly organised by Konrad Adenaur Stiftung (KAS) and Society for Enforcement of Rule of Law (SERL) under their Rule of Law initiative, a programme which was initiated 5 years ago to strengthen legal structures of Pakistan with a particular focus on the capacity building of lawyers, judges, media personnel and law students.
During the session, subject experts not only discussed the international obligations to Pakistan regarding children but also discussed legislation and policies extended for children in Pakistan’s criminal laws.
Sarah Coleman, Chief Child Protection Officer UNICEF, said that children’s compulsory right to education is legally protected and hence it should be enforced by all means. She also mentioned the major laws present in Pakistan including: Employment of Children Act, 1991; Employment of Children Rules, 1995; The Sindh Child Protection Authority Act, 2011; The Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013; The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929; The KP Child Protection and Welfare Act, 2010; The Protection of Breast-feeding Rules, 2009 and The Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breast-feeding and Child Nutrition Act, 2013. She was of the view that implementation of laws is the basic requirement to ensure a better protection to the children.
Raja Ansar Abbas, Vice President Islamabad Bar Association, highlighted the issues related to child labour and explained its difference with child work. He notified that poverty is an unmanageable and uncontrollable factor in Pakistan, which is an unfortunate cause of child labour. 
Tariq Bilal, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan and President SERL underscored the need of child protection laws and mentioned that it is not only obligatory as per the Constitution and laws of Pakistan but is also mandatory as per our religion and there are clear-cut instructions mentioned in the Holy Quran about child protection.
In a robust discussion that followed during the session, participants agreed that government, civil society organisations and media should work in liaison with one another for creating an effective implementation of the existing laws. They said the laws should change how the children are viewed and treated. Legislation set out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The legal community present at the occasion called on the government to increase funding for vulnerable children especially for Children with Disabilities (CWD). A general consensus emerged that legislation should be rationalised for special children as well.