Children in chains.

IT is deeply unfortunate that the state continues to not just ignore but further jeopardise the future of its youth, and by extension its own, through its persistent apathy towards children. Its inaction is particularly to be condemned in the matter of children employed in hazardous occupations - including those made to serve as bonded labour. According to a survey conducted by the Hari Welfare Association, out of the 1.7m people engaged in bonded labour in Sindh, nearly 700,000 are children, mostly in the farm sector. The figure may appear shocking - and, indeed, it would be considered so by any civilised nation. As per some estimates, Pakistan has the third-highest number of bonded labourers globally after Mauritania and Haiti. However, in the context of child labour in the country, perhaps this reprehensible fact is not very surprising. Bonded labour is a deep-rooted practice in feudalism, and one that the state does not care to counter. In fact, child labour is deeply entrenched in practically all occupations. Often it is invisible - for instance, around 12m children work as domestic...