Karachi: PAKISTAN'S Sindh province has banned children under 14 from working, becoming the third region to limit child labour in a country where millions of minors work in sectors from brick making to carpet weaving, farming to mining.
Under new legislation which came into effect on Thursday, offenders face six months of imprisonment and a fine of up to $477.
They risk tougher penalties in cases where children do dangerous jobs or are forced into prostitution, pornography and slavery.
"Due to appalling socio-economic conditions, children under the age of 14 are forced to work in factories, industries, fields and other hazardous areas," said senior Sindh minister Nisar Khuhro, who introduced the bill.
"This law is meant to discourage this practice of exploitation."
More than 12.5 million children in Pakistan are involved in child labour, according to Child Rights Movement.
Many of them are driven into work by poverty.
Pakistan's Labour Force Survey 2014-15 showed that of those children aged between 10 and 14 years active in child labour, 61 percent were boys and 88 percent came from rural areas.
