Maryam Nawaz Forms Steering Committee to Eliminate Child Labour in Punjab

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has established a steering committee aimed at eradicating child labour across the province. A formal notification of the committee’s formation has been issued.

According to the notification, a 15-member steering committee has been constituted, with Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb appointed as its chairperson. Former Member of the National Assembly Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha will serve as the committee’s co-chairman.

Provincial ministers for School Education, Investment & Commerce, Industries & Trade, Social Welfare & Bait-ul-Maal, and Skills & Small Industries Development will serve as members of the committee. Provincial secretaries from the Home, Labour & Human Resource, School Education, Industries & Trade, Social Welfare, and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship departments, along with the PITB Chairman and a DIG Police, are also included as committee members.

The committee will map all sectors and identify those involved in forced child labour. Data will be collected specifically from industries, brick kilns, agriculture, fisheries, workshops, and auto repair sectors. A centralized provincial data bank integrated with AI and GIS technologies will also be developed.

Additionally, the committee will identify high-risk districts, sectors, and areas where child labour is prevalent and propose alternative pathways for affected children.

It will prepare short-, medium-, and long-term strategies for eliminating child labour and develop an implementation framework. The committee will also formulate awareness strategies targeting parents, teachers, and the wider community, along with performance benchmarks for relevant institutions.

Punjab is the first province in Pakistan to introduce such a comprehensive initiative against child labour. Officials believe these measures will help improve Punjab’s global ranking on child protection standards.