Child labor is a social curse, which has affected millions of innocent children. It exists in different forms in majority of the countries of the world. One of the principal causes of child labor is poverty. Problem of Child labor is mostly there in the developing and under developing countries, however it exists in its worst form in the war affected countries like Afghanistan. At world level various organizations and forums have addressed this issue but still a lot has to be done. This issue has also been exploited for international political favors and interests.
Pakistan being a developing country faces the problem of poverty. About 20% of its total population lives in absolute poverty. As a result these people are living a subsistence life and children of this class work to assist their parents. In Pakistan Child labor is a major social issue, even internationally certain industries of the countries have been pressurized for their extensive use of Child labor. In Pakistan it is mostly concentrated in the industrial cities; however the workforce in the industries are mostly drawn from the rural areas.
In the northern areas of Pakistan situation is relatively better then the urban areas of the country. Since in this part of the country industrial units do not exist, therefore people mostly depend on agriculture. In the towns of the region, there are small commercial units like furniture making workshops, automobile workshops, service stations, general stores, restaurants etc. Poor children work in these units for their livelihood. In the rural areas children do assist their parents in the household work, but it is debatable to consider it as child labor.
Apart from the commercial units of the town, child labor also exists in the construction works, which include construction of roads, buildings etc. Like children of any other part of the world, many innocents of Northern Pakistan are also the victims of this social curse. They need equal attention from the local as well as from international community.
