PESHAWAR: SPARC strongly condemns the vicious killing and injuring of innocent school going children-a girl and a boy; in an ambush at Bannu. More agonizing fact is the upsurge in killing of children in seminaries.

Pakistan, a signatory too many international charters such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has yet to prove its will to protect children and their rights, said a press release issued by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) on Tuesday.

The sad fact remains that there was no condemnation of this tragic incident from any quarter of the Society. “It is time for all stakeholders to come together to build a ‘child friendly state’ rather than pushing young ones into the clutches of death,” said Executive Director SPARC Qindeel Shujaat.

He said that SPARC appreciates media’s role in highlighting these tragic news and hopes to see more efforts on part of the media in propagating and protecting child rights. The lack of people’s reaction on this incident also shows the indifference and lack of concern of the society towards defenceless and weak children, he added.

Fazila Gulrez, National Manager Promotion SPARC, stressed on firm efforts on the State’s part to check the rising violence mainly targeting children. She said that a country where low literacy rate is still trying to cope with barriers and constraints one can’t afford such atrocities and added that education of girls is already under serious peril due to suicide bombings and daily threats issued by the ‘militants’ to close down the schools.

Targeting young children in name of religion cannot be justified on any grounds nor does any responsible nation in the world favour such atrocities, the press release concluded.
Source: The Nation
Date:12/5/2007