https://arab.news/w64as
- Police say the infant is in good health and the constable has initiated the legal requirements for adoption
- Over 4.2 million abandoned and orphaned Pakistani children are without shelter, as per SOS orphanage
ISLAMABAD: A constable of Islamabad Police has adopted a newborn baby girl who was found abandoned inside a red paper bag in a garbage bin on the outskirts of the federal capital, an official said on Saturday.
Dozens of newborn baby girls are abandoned annually at hospitals or dumped in garbage heaps across Pakistan due to poverty, the desire for a son or births out of wedlock.
Over 4.2 million abandoned and orphaned children are estimated to be without shelter in Pakistan, according to the SOS orphanage. Abandoned children left without care become victims of homelessness, exploitation and physical or sexual abuse.
Police officials in Islamabad were alerted on Friday by locals in the Chatha Bakhtawar area of the city to an infant found abandoned in a garbage dump inside a bag.
“One of our constables, Muhammad Asif, has adopted the girl, and she is in good health now,” Taqi Jawad, Islamabad police spokesperson, told Arab News.
He said a police team reached the spot immediately to rescue the baby following a call from local residents.
“The baby was immediately moved to a public hospital for a medical checkup where she was declared sound and healthy,” he said.
“One of the team members who rescued the infant is issueless,” he added. “So, he has adopted the girl.”
Jawad said the legal process for the adoption of the child was underway, and the documentation was getting completed.
The police spokesperson said the constable had applied for the guardianship of the child with the deputy commissioner’s office to fulfill the legal requirements for adoption.