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MP highlights plight of abducted children

4/ 7/2008

ROCHDALE MP Paul Rowen used popular Radio 4 programme 'Woman's Hour' to continue his campaign to help children who are abducted abroad.

Mr Rowen started his campaign after being contacted by worried grandmother, Nasreen Akhtar from Deeplish, whose grandchildren were abducted in Pakistan after her daughter, Asma Akhtar split up from her husband, Mohammed Zahoor Akhtar.

The family, who lived in Banbury, Oxfordshire, went on holiday to Pakistan and Dubai on 6 April last year, but failed to return as planned on 26 April.

After taking their passports Mr Akhtar obtained a court order in Pakistan preventing the removal of his children from the country.

Mr Rowen offered to help after being approached by the children’s grandmother and has previously offered to travel to Pakistan to help the mother and her four children.

Mr Rowen said the UK and Pakistan government had an agreement that abducted children should be returned to their country of habitual residence but he says this is not being enforced by either country.

He told the BBC programme: "The Government is planning a conference in February 2009 to discuss some of these urgent issues but we can't wait till then.

"The UK Government's failure to tackle the Pakistan Government means that children currently abducted are in limbo and this needs sorting.

"The UK/Pakistan protocol is effectively toothless - if it can't be enforced then what's the point of it?"

Mr Rowen has also raised the issue in Parliament with Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells.

He said: "We are hopeful that we can resolve this situation and raising the issue on programmes like Woman's Hour keeps the story in the headlines.

"We won't give up and I hope that this case will lead to more co-operation between the UK and Pakistan Governments so that we can protect children from being abducted in the future.

"There are an estimated 25 to 30 children currently being given no protection from a protocol that is rarely enforced and this is just the tip of the ice-berg."

He added: "When marriages between British Asians and their partners from Pakistan collapse - there have been an increasing number of children abducted and taken abroad. The legal minefield that is involved in getting the children safely back to Pakistan is a every parent's worst nightmare."