ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Human Rights together with Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit (PMDU) has launched the Zainab Alert app so citizens could report any children that go missing.
According to details, the Zainab Alert Bill and its associated application have been named after a six-year-old girl called Zainab, who was raped and murdered in Kasur back in 2018.
The incident sparked outrage across Pakistan, with the citizens demanding to hang the culprit. Later that year, Zainab’s murderer, who also confessed the crime, was hanged.
Today (Thursday), a ceremony to mark the momentous occasion was held in Islamabad and attended by Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari and Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar.
Speaking on the occasion, Shireen Mazari said that the past government had already begun work on an alert, which was named “mera bacha” (my child) on the prime minister’s portal but it was never completed.
The human rights minister informed that the Zainab Alert app has been integrated with district police officers throughout the country. “In Punjab, it is linked to 36, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to 33, and in Sindh to 50 district police officers,” she added.
Shireen Mazari further said that the complaints registered with the app will prompt the police to launch an immediate probe into the matter. “The app has been designed in a manner that making a fake alert is not possible,” she remarked.
“Soon a national directory will be formulated which will work with Edhi and other charities to develop a safety mechanism for children,” she concluded.
