The aura of begging in Pakistan has evolved beyond a socio-cultural image of personal distress and has fast emerged as a socio-legal issue predetermined by poverty, joblessness, handicap, immigration, and criminal syndicates. Although this phenomenon is most commonly mistaken as a moral weakness, structural inequalities, and failures in governance as fundamental reasons. Formal and informal begging involve children, older people, women, transgenders, and persons living with disabilities.
They are largely seen in all major cities. The law finds it difficult to address the problem, and punitive measures have failed in taking action to deal with the reasons which lead individuals to the streets for begging.In Pakistan, the laws especially the Vagrancy Ordinance of 1958 of the West Pakistan, the Punjab Prevention of Beggary Act 1971, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vagrancy Restraint criminalize begging. These laws permit arrest and temporary imprisonment of the beggars, and, in certain instances, rehabilitate them so that they should not revert again to begging. Other safeguards are provided by Sindh Child Protection Authority Act 2011, and Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004 that deal with child begging and exploitation. Nonetheless, the institutional capacity to enforce these laws is weak and lack of co-ordination and inadequate rehabilitation facilities are such that the law hardly becomes a practical means of reform.Financial crisis leading to economic instability, inflation, absence of employment opportunities, and abrupt financial shocks plunge the poor into poverty. The social factors involve family breakup, abuses within the household, neglect, rural-urban migration, gender and social exclusion of transgenders. Mental illness, trauma, and drugs addiction are some of psychological conditions that remain untreated because of lack of awareness about mental health. Disability propels people into reliance on charity. The organized criminal groups exploit children and weak adults with the use of coercion, threats, and violence.
The Islamic law gives orderly forms of social support through zakat, sadaqah, and waqf which are aimed at eradicating exploitation rather than normalizing it. These ideas are reflected in the Constitution of Pakistan: Article 38(d) states that the State must help to provide children with the
most basic needs in life, and Article 25A provides children aged 5-16 with free education which is the key to ending the child begging cycle.During last few years, thousands of Pakistanis were deported by Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Gulf countries who have been found begging during Hajj, Umrah or on visit and work permits. The Federal Decree Law No. 31 of 2021 of UAE provides strict punishment in the case of the act of begging and considers the organized begging as a criminal offence associated with fraud and trafficking. Most of the deportees come back without support rendering them vulnerable to re-exploitation.
Irrespective of this fact, EU had banned textile quota in the past due to noncompliance of human rights issues and now UAE and Saudi Arabia have reprimanded Pakistan on begging issues. It seems that we have not learnt any lesson from the past. These two issues human trafficking in EU and begging in Middle East will again place Pakistan in embarrassing situation and most likely this time Pakistan will loss economic benefits from both regions. Pakistan has to work on the points of plan to end these menaces with constructive, honest, and prompt work.Pakistan is in dire need of the change in the punitive approaches to a rights-based rehabilitative one.
The problem of poverty, crime, social protection, and the legal reform have to be tackled in one solution. At the heart of this reform is the creation of a National Anti-Beggary and Child Protection Task Force, with powers to rescue minors from the custody of begging gangs, to break down organized groups, to align efforts of police and welfare agencies. There is need to make comprehensive and uniform policies across provinces. This Task Force should make sure that every child caught begging is transferred immediately to schools, shelter homes, or child protection facilities and they should not be left in the street begging business.Rehabilitation programs are necessary. Adults are supposed to be given vocational training and health care as well as psychological counselling and reintegration support. Hotspots of begging should be converted to the centers where the beggars are trained on trade, small business development, and social support. Social entrepreneurship projects, microfinance projects, and community-based welfare projects can move families off permanent dependency to sustainable livelihoods.The penalties should be increased on people who exploit people to their advantage. Forced begging, child trafficking, disablement in order to beg; organized begging mafia should receive harsh punitive actions such as a long jail term, seizure of assets, anti-money laundering
investigations, and application of trafficking statutes. Children should not be considered as criminals but as victims.Pakistan should also implement strict policies on abuse of international travelling for begging purposes. Those who beg in other countries while on Hajj, Umrah, visit or work visa should be subjected to: Lifetime foreign-travel bans, blacklisting for visa, and criminal trial against them for committing fraud or trafficking or organized exploitation.This is not only as a way of meeting international obligations but also to keep Pakistan’s reputation safeguarded internationally. Punitive and preventive reforms should be accompanied by protection mechanisms. The children, women, disabled and survivors of trafficking should be provided with safe housing, medical assistance, legal help, and referrals to state-funded welfare programs. A synergistic decision between Islamic charity systems and government welfare can transform transitory Islamic charity to a sustainable reduction of poverty. The institutions of Zakat and Ushr are supposed to cooperate with the governmental authorities to promote education, healthcare, business, and housing of vulnerable groups.Begging is a curse borne out of extensive institutional inefficiency, societal inequality, and economic marginalization in Pakistan. A combination of legal enforcement, social protection, education, and international cooperation is required in implementation of the reform. Pakistan can destroy the economy of begging by making a distinction between voluntary and forced begging, strengthening the penalties against exploiters, integrating children into schools, enforcing visa and travel laws, rehabilitating, and establishing a national task force, which will help to fulfill constitutional and Islamic promises of human dignity. This remains the only way to save the vulnerable individuals and stop the exploitation cycle by Begger mafia.
Muhammad Majid Bashir
The author is a former judge. Email Judgemajid@hotmail.com