MITHI: Rights activists have expressed serious concern over growing incidents of child abuse, suicide and deaths of infants at government hospitals in the drought-hit Thar region and demanded the government should immediately move into action to address the burning issues.

Advocate Kashif Bajeer, Noor Mohammad Bajeer, Obhayo Junejo and other activists of Child Rights Movement told journalists at a press conference at Thar Press Club on Sunday evening that minor girls were subjected to gangrape in Nagarparkar and Chhachbroareas butthefunctionaries concerned were leastmoved by the victims` plight.

They said the most shameful aspect of the two incidents was that the suspects also filmed the victims while being subjected to sexual assault. They, however, lauded police efforts to register FIR and arrest two suspects involved in the gangrape in Dano Dhandal area but deplored the fact that the culprits involved in a similar incident in a village near Chhachbro town in which a minor girl was raped had not yet been arrested.

They demanded the government implement relevant laws to prevent such heinous crimes and urged chief justice of Pakistan to issue directives to judges of district and civil courts to dispose of immediately cases of assault on girlsand award exemplary punishment to the culprits.

They expressed deep concern over unabated deaths of infants at government hospitals and growing dismal trend of suicide in Thar and demanded the government should introduce effective policies to provide sustainable relief to the drought-hit people and eliminate social and economic causes that drove a person to utter disappointment with life.

`Only long-term policies and plans can provide sustainable relief to Tharis,` they said and added that there was urgent need to launch relief operation in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Sanghar districts where the situation was fast becoming alarming.