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NCHR report calls for quick action as more than 6.6 million people do dangerous jobs.
BY Mahnoor | 19-06-2026
ISLAMABAD: A new report released on Thursday by the NCHR and UNICEF shows that over 8.6 million children in Pakistan are working. More than 6.6 million of these children do dangerous jobs that harm their health and safety.
The report, called ‘Pakistan: Child Labour Surveys, Evidence for Action,’ is the first major national study on this issue in almost 30 years. It provides detailed information on where child labor is happening, what kind of work children are doing, and why it is occurring.
When releasing the report, NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha said Pakistan hasn’t had a full survey on child labor since 1996. This means leaders have had to use old and incomplete information for over 20 years. She added that while the amount of child labor changes by province, dangerous child labor is a major problem across the whole country.
The study shows that Punjab has the most child labor, with about 6 million children working. Sindh has 1.6 million, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has 745,155, Balochistan has 201,352, and Islamabad has 15,180.
Poverty is the main reason children work; it mostly affects those from very poor families or homes where parents have little education. Boys are much more likely to work than girls, often in dangerous jobs.
The report says that much of child labor happens in family settings, like farms and homes, so it is hard for inspectors to find. This work hurts children deeply.
Working children often miss school, work too much, and face injuries, sickness, and exhaustion. Between 32% and 58% of these children reported getting hurt or sick from work, and about one-third of older children felt depressed.
Human Rights Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said one ministry alone cannot solve this problem. He noted that child labor is much more common than people think and urged the government to make it a top priority.
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