PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday decided to legislate against begging in the province.

Legislation will help effectively check professional begging as well as forced begging by children and persons with disabilities, and counter exploitation-based criminal activities, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister`s Secretariat.

In a letter, issued by the Chief Minister`s Secretariat, Mr Gandapur asked the chief secretary to prepare the draft `Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vagrancy (Control and Rehabilitation) Act.

He called for the formation of a committee under the supervision of the social welfare secretary with representation from the law and local government departments, police, Child Protection Commission, Bureau of Statistics, the commissioner and deputy commissioner of Peshawar, NGOs, and civil society to oversee the proposed legislation and related matters.

The chief minister said the committee must present the draft law and an operational and enforcement framework within 30 days. He said that the proposed law should clearly categorise child and forced begging, professional beggary, vagrancy, and other related activities.

`The bill should prescribe penalties for the use of children, disabled individuals, and drug addicts in begging, and criminalise the operation, financing or sheltering of begging groups. Also, it should include punishments for professional beggars who obstructed public movement or harassed citizens. The designated officers from the police, social welfare and local government departments should be authorised to apprehend violators and process their cases,` he noted in the letter.

Mr Gandapur also proposed the establishment of a WhatsApp hotline for citizen facilitation and reporting of professional beggars and child exploitation.

He added that designated traffic points, terminals, markets and other public places should be declared `No Begging Zones` and that the proposed law should also incorporate provisions for on-the-spot fines and summary trials of offenders.

`In order to identify and register repeat offenders, an AI-based facial recognition or biometric mechanism should be employed.

The chief minister said the children found begging should be handed over to the child protection and welfare commission, while legal action should be proposed under relevant laws against guardians, handlers and groupsforcingchildrenintobegging.

He added that the draft law should carry measures for the rehabilitation of homeless individuals involved in professional beggary.

`These measures will encompass the provision of shelters, rehabilitation of drug addicts, vocational training and family tracing. The system for tracking and verification of individuals involved in professional begging will be linked to Nadra.

Mr Gandapur noted that under the proposed law, the Provincial Vagrancy Oversight Committee would be established for monitoring purposes under the secretary of the social welfare department, while task forces against professional beggary would be formed under the leadership of commissioner and deputy commissioners.

In the letter, he also noted the geo-tagging and data mapping of beggary hotspots and the installation of CCTV cameras in high-traffic zones for surveillance and said after the law`s enactment, the commissioners would produce monthly reports regarding beggary control, enforcement and rehabilitation measures.