More than 6.6 million children engaged in hazardous labour in Pakistan: Report

As many as 8.6 million children are engaged in child labour in Pakistan, with more than 6.6 million involved in hazardous labour that poses a threat to their health, safety and future, according to a national report launched by the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) in collaboration with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), local media reported on Friday. 

The report “Pakistan: Child Labour Surveys, Evidence for Action” was the first nationally representative child labour dataset in nearly 30 years and provided details regarding child labour in the country like distribution, sectors, risks and drivers of child labour, Pakistan's daily Dawn reported.

At the launch of the report, NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha stated that hazardous child labour impacted children in every region of Pakistan. According to the report, Punjab had the most number of children involved in child labour, with more than six million in Punjab, followed by 1.6 million in Sindh, 745,155 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 201,352 in Balochistan and 15,180 in Islamabad Capital Territory.

According to the report, poverty was the main cause of child labour, with the highest prevalence among the poorest households and families where parents were less educated. Boys were significantly more likely than girls to have been involved in labour, including hazardous work.

The report revealed the severe impact of child labour on well-being of children. Children engaged in labour were more likely to remain out of school, work for longer hours, suffer injuries, illness and poor mental health. According to the report, 32 per cent-58 per cent of working children reported work-related injuries or illness across provinces of Pakistan while up to one third of older children engaged in labour had symptoms of depression.

Last week, Executive Director of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), Asiya Arif, stated that every fourth household in Pakistan's Islamabad has a child as domestic worker as the implementation of the legislation on child domestic labour remains far from satisfactory.

Asiya Arif made these remarks during an event organised by Sparc in collaboration with the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) to mark the World Day Against Child Labour 2026, Dawn reported. She underscored the need to have collective red card against child labour and called for addressing the issue across several sectors like supply chains, hotels, automobile workshops and the brick kiln industry.

She called for making coordinated and sustained efforts through strong implementation mechanisms, increased social protection, and access to quality education as per the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Article 16 of the Constitution. She said that Pakistan's Education Ministry has recently revealed that 26.2 million children are out of school.