Child tortured in Gujranwala by employer

Child tortured: A factory owner in Gujranwala allegedly tortured a 15-year-old employee, which resulted in the victim losing his eyesight. The torture, according to eye-witness accounts, took place after the employer, Abdul Rehman, asked the factory owner to pay him his wage.

The police, while informed about this incident, are reluctant to take the factory owner into custody, as he is an influential figure in the area.

Rehman, a resident of Ilyas Colony, Khiyali, Gujrawala, worked at a local factory that makes metal rods; when he went to the factory owner to ask for his wage, the owner lashed onto him with a metal rod and forced him out of the factory. The neighbors, on witnessing Rehman in such a wounded state, quickly transferred him to the district hospital, where it was confirmed by doctors that the teenager had lost his eyesight. The police, even after taking the doctors’ statements, have not taken any action against the factory owner.

Child labor is an endemic in Pakistan and while the topic is very complex, it is the responsibility of the government to enforce stricter laws that regulate this issue and provide effective labor right laws.