ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Friday handed over a lost Afghan child to Kabul’s embassy here to eventually reunite with his family in Nangarhar.
The child, identified as Ubaid had come to Pakistan with his parents for medical treatment of his father. However, during their stay in Islamabad, he went missing. The mother of the child could not find any clue about his whereabouts and due to sudden demise of Ubaid’s father had left for Afghanistan
The child was found by Islamabad police on November 7, 2015 and was referred to the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau who took the custody of the child and provided him a homelike environment along with, education, healthcare and psychological counselling.
The goodwill gesture from Pakistan came as Kabul continued to accuse Islamabad of sheltering terrorists. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani even criticised the fatwa (religious decree) by Pakistani religious scholars to declare suicide bombing un-Islamic.Ghani maintained the fatwa should cover the entire Muslim world, including Afghanistan. The Afghan president said more than 20 international terrorist groups were active in Afghanistan and were producing suicide bombers.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua handed over the custody of an Afghan child to the Afghan embassy at a ceremony here. She also offered him gifts. Pakistani authorities as well as embassy in Kabul made efforts to trace his family in Afghanistan, said a foreign ministry statement.
“After successful conclusion of these efforts, Ubaid was handed over to the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad. He would be travelling to reunite with his family in Afghanistan,” the statement added. “The government and people of Afghanistan have deeply appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for taking good care of the destitute Afghan child and his safe reunion with his family,” it said.
Afghan deputy ambassador in Pakistan Zardasht Shams appreciated the efforts of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for efforts to reunite Ubaid with his family.