SAHIWAL: PunjabChild Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) Chairperson Ms Sara Ahmed says that the bureau will request the Punjab government to order an investigation into the runningofan orphanageby anunregistered entity at Chichawatni, which was also receiving donations.

The CPWB chairperson, who is currently abroad on a private visit, said this on Thursday while talking to Dawn on the phone.

Expressing her serious concern, Ms Ahmed questioned how the Chichawatni orphanage was operating without registration from either the district social welfare department or the CPWB, especially while accepting donations and housing children from another province.

Urging the Punjab government to investigate the matter, she said, `It is not our mandate to conduct investigations [into the orphanage`s affairs], but we will formally write to the Punjab government, urging them to probe how Ahmed WelfareFoundation is functioning without a licence.

`Relevant law enforcement agencies must take action against this illegal entity,` she added.

Sources say that the orphanage has an account in a private bank from where funds were released for the orphanage over the past two years.

However, the organisers of the orphanage claim that they were operating it with personal donations.

Reacting to reports that the Balochistan government may send the family members or parents of the recovered minors to Sahiwal to meet the children who are presently housed at the CPWB`s district office, Ms Ahmed said this would be possible only with the permission of the court, which has awarded their custody to the bureau under the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2004.

Meanwhile, the Additional Sessions Judge-I, who also acts as presiding officer of the Child Protection Court, directed the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital medical superintendent (MS) to conduct a medical examination of all 18 minor children and submit a detailed report to the court.

MS Dr Yad Ullah confirmed that the children`s medical examination will be conducted at the STH on Friday (today).

The 18 minor children 17 ofwhom are from Balochistan were rescued from an unregistered orphanage, Ahmed Welfare Foundation, Chichawatni.

The children were rescued by the CPWB following the surfacing of a disturbing video on social media showing the physical abuse of a minor child at the hands of a caretakerofthe orphanage.

Acting on the directives of District Police Officer Rana Tahir, Chichawatni police raided the premises and arrested the caretaker, Bashir Ahmed.

The police investigations revealed that all the children in the orphanage had been subjected to physical abuse by caretakers.

On the court orders, the CPWB district office took custody of the children and housed them in its facility near the High-Security Prison in Sahiwal.

CPWB officials claimed that the children have been admitted to the CPWB hostels,provided with new clothes and food, and are enjoying recreational activities at the play area withinthe facility.

Shafiq Ratyal, an official at the CPWB, says the bureau has a legal mandate to register all the NGOs / CSOs providing shelter to children under the age of 18 years.He says that the bureau has constituted teams for vigilance of such organisations.