Cops playing significant role in search for missing kids honoured

Twenty-four Sindh police officials were awarded certificates of appreciation during a ceremony held in honour of the law enforcers who played an extraordinary role in the search for missing children in the province.

Roshi Helpline founder Muhammad Ali said on the occasion that there has been a positive and significant change in the police station culture, with FIRs concerning missing children being registered immediately, and serious efforts being made for their recovery.

Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said that the availability of data on missing children with their pictures on the digital portal, and their sharing with all the relevant quarters has made the search easier.

The certificate distribution ceremony was organised by the Roshni Helpline in Dr Muhammad Ali Shah Auditorium at the Central Police Office. IG Memon attended the ceremony as the chief guest.

Seven officers, including SSP Syed Irfan Ali Bahadur, SSP Shehla Qureshi, SSP Alina Rajpar and DSP Zulfiqar Abbasi, were awarded certificates of appreciation. Five female sub-inspectors, five assistant sub-inspectors and three head constables were also rewarded.

Ali gave a detailed briefing on the establishment of his organisation, its aims and objectives, and all its services. He said that this is the first programme held at national level to pay tribute to police heroes searching for missing and abandoned children.

He pointed out that the Zainab Alert, Response & Recovery Agency was established in 2020, and some 12,300 missing children have been reunited with their parents since then. He said that more than 4,000 police officers have been trained so far. Sindh police have always worked as a vanguard with the Roshni Helpline, he added. He also said that trained, professional and polite staff deployed at police stations prove to be helpful in searching for children.

Ali said that the number of missing children in the entire country was 3,070 by 2024. The number of missing children in the country now is only 15, as all the other missing children have been reunited with their parents with the help of police, he added.

He said that next year such events would be organised in other cities. The toll-free number of the Roshni Helpline (1138) works round the clock.

IG Memon said that the relationship of cooperation and assistance between the Roshni Helpline and the Sindh police for searching missing children has been going on for years.

“The appreciation of the performance of the Sindh police by the Roshni Helpline is a source of satisfaction for me and the institution. I am grateful to the Roshni Helpline for expressing ideas such as prompt registration of FIRs, and people-friendly policing at police stations.”

He said that due to the online portal, the data of the Roshni Helpline and the Sindh police have become uniform and similar. All one-stop facilitation centres will be activated by the provincial government soon, he added. “It is a good thing to praise police for their good performance. Finding a large number of missing children, and reuniting them with their parents is a major task.”

He also said that he personally informs police and the Roshni Helpline about the disappearance of children. “The purpose of sharing information is to find possible ways to reunite the missing children with their parents.”