8.6 million children engaged in labour in Pakistan, EU-backed report unveils

ISLAMABAD – A new report has estimated that around 8.6 million children in Pakistan are engaged in child labour, highlighting widespread protection gaps and calling for urgent reforms to address the issue. The findings were presented in a report titled “At the Margins of Protection: Child Labor in Pakistan’s Private Sector,” launched under the EU-funded Huqooq-e-Pakistan II project by the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the report, nearly one in every ten children in the country is involved in some form of labour, often in hazardous and unregulated conditions. It notes that many of these children remain outside formal oversight mechanisms, particularly in informal sectors and fragmented supply chains. The study identifies poverty, lack of access to education, and weak enforcement of labour laws as the key drivers of child labour. It further states that the problem is more severe in informal workplaces where regulatory monitoring is limited. Speaking at the launch, European Union Deputy Head of Mission Philipp Oliver Gross termed the report an important step toward addressing child labour, adding that progress in this area is linked to Pakistan’s international commitments, including trade preferences under the EU’s GSP+ scheme. UNDP Resident Representative Samuel Rizk said child labour remains both widespread and often hidden within informal economic activity, stressing the need for stronger institutions and improved data systems. The report highlights several systemic weaknesses, including poor coordination between federal and provincial authorities, inadequate labour inspections, fragmented data systems, and weak policy integration between education, labour, and social protection sectors. It recommends a coordinated, system-wide response rather than isolated interventions, urging harmonisation of labour laws, stronger enforcement mechanisms, better data integ