Summary The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought a detailed report from the Ministry of Human Rights regarding the functioning of the authority established for the protection of children
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought a detailed report from the Ministry of Human Rights regarding the functioning of the authority established for the protection of children, directing the ministry to respond to a series of court queries.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir issued a written order on a public interest petition filed by citizen Suneela Khurram. The court has directed the Ministry of Human Rights to submit comprehensive details regarding the implementation of the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Act (ZARA) 2020.
According to the court order, the Islamabad administration submitted a report on incidents of child abuse and missing children from 2022 to 2025. The report stated that 562 criminal cases of child abuse and missing children were registered over the three-year period.
The Ministry of Human Rights informed the court that several measures have been taken following the implementation of the ZARA Act 2020. The court observed that the ZARA Act was enacted to ensure the protection of children’s rights and prevention from violence, abuse, abduction, and exploitation, and is in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international treaties.
The court has sought details regarding the establishment of the Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency under Section 3 of the ZARA Act, including its organizational structure, approved vacancies, appointments, and performance. The court also inquired what institutional system has been devised for issuing Zainab Alerts and whether standard operating procedures have been formulated.
The IHC further asked what system has been established for receiving and recording information about missing or abducted children and uploading it to the ZARA database, and whether this database is linked with Islamabad Police and other relevant institutions.
The court sought details of measures taken for nationwide implementation and monitoring of the ZARA Act, as well as the number of cases registered against negligent government officials under Section 9 of the Act.
The court also inquired whether the Islamabad Child Protection Advisory Board has been constituted and sought details of recommendations made during board meetings and actions taken. Additionally, the court asked about the institutional mechanism for coordination, information sharing, and legal implementation between ZARA and Islamabad Police, as well as the procedure for immediate information transmission and alert issuance upon receiving a report of a missing or abducted child.
The court directed that the nominated officer of the Ministry of Human Rights appear before the court on July 1 to assist the proceedings, and the Director General of ZARA Authority shall also appear personally on the next hearing.
The court ordered that responses to all questions be submitted in the form of a detailed report with relevant documents before the next hearing and adjourned the case.
