Kidnapping of girls across Pakistan increasing: Report

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 28 : The kidnapping of girls across Pakistan is rapidly increasing and most of them are either forced into prostitution or sold to gulf nations, Pak vernacular media reported.
Rights group Sarim Barni Trust said that 800 missing children cases were reported in Karachi alone in 2020. Out of these, 234 were girls, which is 27 per cent of the tally.
In the first three months of 2021, the number of a registered child missing cases is 233. Out of which, 74 are girls which makes it more than 31 per cent. Even though as per records many kidnapped children were recovered, a big number is still untraceable.
Rights activists have put the blame on the police for their inadequate response and for not cooperating with the aggrieved families. Multiple media reports suggest that the situation is not only in Karachi but the story of Punjab's Saraiki Belt and District Rahim Yar Khan.
"Due to poverty, parents are selling their children to agents or pimps who sell them further either for prostitution or to the Gulf countries," the report said.
At a time when crimes against women in the country are increasing, irresponsible statements by the leaders are not helping the cause.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that sexual crimes are rising in the country due to misuse of mobile phones, local media reported.
"Sexual crimes are on the rise due to misuse of mobile phones. We need to educate our children about the supreme qualities of Seerat-e-Nabi," The Tribune quoted Khan as saying on Friday.
Khan's remarks have drawn massive criticism on social media. Twitter users have slammed him for not blaming the real culprits for sexual violence.
Suburban Delicatician, a Twitter user wrote, "Everyone in my family has a mobile phone. Now I have to be careful that the phones don't make them sexually assault anyone."