Pakistani government admits helplessness in ‘uprooting’ organised beggary and the mafia running it

Beggary is a curse which undermines the moral fibre and image of any nation globally, but in Pakistan, the government continues to struggle to contain this social shame and the vicious cycle of its practice through an organised mafia. 

A Pakistani minister recently admitted that it is difficult to uproot beggars completely from the country since it has turned into a business worth trillions of rupees and any drastic measure cannot be taken against it. The mafia running the beggars across Pakistan exploit the children most.

This is an alarming view and shows the way this crisis has deeply spread its roots in Pakistan. The government seems to have surrendered and there is no chance of removing it in near future.

So much so that Pakistanis are also masquerading as beggars abroad. Pakistan’s begging industry earns $42 billion every year, says a media report.

Child beggary remains a major concern  for the country which is struggling against crushing inflation and increasing cost of living.

Tired of the increasing number of child labourers, the Sindh Child Protection Authority recently informed the Sindh Assembly that it was working in coordination with the provincial police to execute an anti-child beggary drive to rescue these children. 

Dawn News, a leading Pakistani newspaper, asked the government to answer its failure in uprooting the social evil, despite surrendering that it remains a difficult task to do so.

In its Editorial, the Pakistani newspaper said: “First, despite beggary being illegal in Pakistan with up to three years in jail for beggars and parents of young mendicants, what propels the menace? Second, while several campaigns failed due to the absence of comprehensive data, we continue to formulate policies and initiatives based on guesswork.”

Quoting the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)-released data, Pakistan Observer said the number of children who beg on the streets of urban cities within Pakistan amounts to around 1.2 million.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) estimates that 2.5 to 11 percent of Pakistan’s population chooses begging as a means of survival. Approximately 1.2 million children roam the streets of major urban centres, caught in this cycle of poverty, according to AHRC as reported by the news portal The Tatva.
The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) quoted the data as around 1.5 million.

In an article published in 2023, Pakistan Observer claimed children are trained to become beggars by professional gangs.

“One of the harshest trajectories of such a dilemma is the influence of mafia beggars on child beggars who are trained professionally by gangs and then inhumanely tortured for running away. This prevents them from speaking up about their mafia networks and as a result, remains stuck in such a vicious cycle,” the article said.

The article blamed poverty and unemployment as the cause of rising poverty in Pakistani cities.

Quoting surveys, the country’s media reports claimed an estimated 22.84 million out-of-school children have been involved in beggary.

As per the UNICEF website, about 3.3  million Pakistani children are trapped in child labour, depriving them of their childhood, health and education, and condemning them to a life of poverty and want. 

Rather than only taking measures to eradicate child beggars, the time has come now for Pakistan to stringently punish the mafias and others involved in the crime.

Punishment and tough measures against these people can only be an effective silver capsule to reduce the evil trend.

Similarly, focusing on educating children and reducing school dropouts can even benefit society and slash the number of beggars flooding society and damaging the international image.

“Child beggars are not the same as destitute minors and orphans. Emotionally neglected and deprived of food, shelter, education and clothing, they are commodities in the hands of a mafia. Often, their psychosocial growth is impaired and they either become addicts or mentally ill,” the Dawn News Editorial said.

Moving these children from the shackles of poverty and presenting them with a positively motivated and secured society can only help them dream of a better and brighter future for themselves. 

Time has not come to question the government which is surrendering by admitting it can’t be uprooted. The reality is the government can only ensure a promising future for these children  by executing the existing laws and mending the socio-economic system.