A six-year-old child kidnapped from Karachi Zoo was eventually rescued after spending over six months in the hands of a begging mafia, but his ordeal did not end with his return home.
The recovered child continued begging from visitors long after his rescue, highlighting the lasting psychological impact of child trafficking.
Speaking on ARY Nukta Program ‘Spotlight’, Muhammad Ali, recounted one of the most disturbing cases his organization handled.
He said six-year-old Hamza Iqbal disappeared from Karachi Zoo, also known as Gandhi Garden, in 2005-06 and was found 204 days later in the custody of a Beggers mafia.
He said his organization was informed about the child’s disappearance around six hours after the incident.
Following this, the volunteers immediately joined the search, while the boy’s parents endured uncertainty and distress throughout this period.
Newspaper advertisements were published in an effort to trace the child. Days later, an anonymous caller reported seeing a boy matching Hamza’s description begging in Pakhtunabad, an area of Manghopir, Karachi.
Acting on the tip-off, police and volunteers carried out late-night raids under the supervision of Garden Police Station. Hamza was eventually found in the fifteenth house searched, along with three other children.
Muhammad Ali further told that the boy had been tied to a charpoy with ropes. His mother reportedly fainted when she saw him, while residents who had followed the case gathered to witness the reunion.
According to Muhammad Ali, a husband and wife arrested during the operation confessed to abducting children and handing them over to organized begging gangs.
He said that children were trained to beg before being sold to different criminal groups.
The woman accused also admitted during the investigation that Hamza was repeatedly burned with cigarettes because he constantly cried to return to his mother. He was also tied up to prevent him from escaping.
Muhammad Ali said the trauma did not end after the boy was rescued. Even after returning home, Hamza had become so trained to life in the begging network that he asked every visitor for money.
Muhammad Ali urged parents to remain vigilant in crowded public places, where even a brief moment of inattention can provide an opportunity for child traffickers and organized begging gangs.