To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. The promulgation of a landmark ordinance by the Punjab government to ban employment of children and restrict the recruitment of adolescents for hazardous occupations is a step which will surely curb child labour in the future. The declared purpose of the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Child Ordinance 2016 is to protect children and adolescents against any form of slavery. It also bans the use of children or adolescents for prostitution, pornography and other illicit activities including trafficking of drugs in particular. The ordinance also makes it unlawful for an occupier (employer) to require or permit an adolescent to work in an establishment for extra hours. 

Children are the beauty of this world. Keeping this in mind, the government has taken immediate and timely measures to protect the future of children. The other provincial governments should also take initiatives to curb child labour. 

SYED ALI QASIM, 

Lahore, July 20.