Pakistan launches ‘Awaz’ mobile app to report missing children, rights violations

Pakistan’s human rights ministry recently announced it had launched the Awaz mobile application to report missing children and human rights violations across the country. According to the ministry, this move is to ensure “a quick and coordinated response” in case of mishaps.

Kidnapping of children and their sexual abuse has been a recurring problem across the country that the authorities have had to deal with regularly. According to an annual report by a Pak NGO Sahil, a total of 1833 abduction cases were reported across the country in 2023. Out of these, 105 amounting to 6 percent of 1833 were cases of sexual abuse after abduction.

Human Rights violations in Pak include restrictions on freedom of speech, extrajudicial killings, torture, affecting marginalised sections and communities, activists and journalists. In 2020, the South Asian state passed the Zainab Alert in the parliament. Its a recovery and response bill to ensure speedy recovery of children abducted apart from all cases of kidnapping, rape and murder of minor children to be investigated under three months.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said in a statement, “We are proud to introduce the Awaz App that marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to human rights. It underscores our dedication to leveraging technology to ensure swift and effective action on every report and to uphold justice with unwavering resolve.”

The ministry said the application allows users to report human rights violations, including missing or abducted children and is available on all Android platforms while the iOS versions would be released soon.