A panel convened in Islamabad to launch a new report and accompanying policy brief focused on internally displaced children, Afghan child migrants and forcibly displaced children in Pakistan, bringing together experts in child protection, migration and displacement to map practical responses.
The session featured contributions from Mr. Nasir Dostani, Director General of the Social Welfare Department in Balochistan, Taymoor Nawaz, Director Coordinator at the Chief Commissionerate Afghan Refugees, Mr. Ijaz Khan, Deputy Chief Protection Officer for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection, and Madhev Belbase, Child Protection Officer at UNHCR, and was moderated by Dr. Mehek Naeem, a Member of the Punjab National Commission on the Rights of the Child.
Discussion centred on ways to expand access to quality child protection services for displaced children, with an emphasis on strengthening inter-agency coordination between provincial authorities, refugee bodies and humanitarian partners. Panelists highlighted the need for low-cost, community-based approaches that can be scaled quickly, including converting underutilized urban spaces into safe, child-friendly zones that offer psychosocial support and recreational activities.
Speakers underscored the importance of inclusive, child-sensitive policy-making that places the best interest of the child above migration or legal status, noting that coordinated policy and practice across government departments, UN agencies and child rights institutions is essential to close existing protection gaps for displaced children in Pakistan.
Participants called for immediate steps to translate the report’s findings into actionable programs at provincial and local levels, encouraging partnerships that bring together state services, community organisations and international agencies to ensure displaced children are protected, supported and empowered in their communities.
