By: Dr. Abdul Ghani
E. Mail: ghanillm@yahoo.com
Published By: ANI News Agency
An orphanage is established to give children without adequate parental care a safe home, education, affection and protection. Its greatest responsibility is to make a vulnerable child feel that, despite everything he has lost, he has not been abandoned. A bed may shelter his body; responsible care must also protect his dignity, his freedom and his future.
Who kept that promise for Waseem Abbas?
According to published reports, Waseem, approximately fifteen years old, was doing electrical work at an under-construction house in Royal Orchard, Multan. A contractor allegedly pursued him, first on foot and then in a vehicle, before running him over. Reports describe CCTV footage capturing the pursuit and fatal collision. At an age when a child should be looking towards tomorrow, Waseem was reportedly running for the chance to reach it.
It is difficult to contemplate that account without anguish. A young life, already marked by vulnerability, ended with no opportunity to grow beyond it. We cannot know every thought that passed through his mind. We can recognise what every frightened child deserves: someone who intervenes, somewhere safe to go, and an adult whose authority offers protection.
Police reportedly arrested the main suspect and seized the vehicle. These are necessary first steps, but accountability cannot end with an arrest. Investigators must establish how Waseem died, who arranged his placement, what safeguards existed and whether failures of supervision exposed him to danger. Arrest does not establish guilt. A rigorous investigation and fair trial must determine responsibility, without deference to influence or position.
The questions extend beyond the person accused of driving.
Reporting indicates that Waseem lived in an orphanage. If that institution arranged or permitted his placement with a contractor, who authorised it? Was the arrangement recorded? Who checked his working conditions? Could he complain privately? Could he refuse work and return to safety? These questions require documents, testimony and clear answers.
An institution cannot claim the honour of sheltering a child while treating his welfare outside its gates as somebody else’s concern. Responsibility must follow the child. Otherwise, protection becomes a word displayed on a building rather than a commitment honoured in his life.
Teaching a teenager a skill can create opportunity. But “training” must never become an excuse for coercion, humiliation or violence. Food and accommodation do not purchase unquestioning obedience. Poverty does not turn a child into property, and gratitude must never be demanded at the price of personal safety.
The setting sharpens the pain. Residential developments advertise guarded entrances, orderly streets and secure living. Those promises should prompt a difficult question: whose safety counts? A worker entering to help build a home deserves protection too. Housing administrations should review emergency responses, worker safeguards and procedures for assisting anyone fleeing danger.
CCTV can preserve evidence. It cannot restore a heartbeat. Its value must extend beyond showing investigators what happened after the opportunity to save a life has passed. Security arrangements should help people recognise danger and respond while intervention remains possible.
*Yet even amid this tragedy, humanity is still alive. Waseem may have been an orphan, but those raising their voices for him are showing that the pursuit of justice for him need not be a lonely one. Their compassion carries a powerful message: a child does not have to be our own for his suffering to matter, nor must we share his blood to demand accountability for his death. They cannot restore the life he lost, but through their voices and resolve, they can help ensure that his story is neither silenced nor forgotten.*
Justice now requires patient, uncompromising work. Preserve the original recordings. Protect witnesses from intimidation. Examine placement and employment records. Establish each person’s role. Build a prosecution capable of surviving scrutiny. Public anger must become sustained attention, so that this case does not disappear when another tragedy takes its place.
A separate child-protection inquiry should examine the institution’s practices without prejudging its staff or casting suspicion on every orphanage. Other children should have confidential opportunities to describe their circumstances. Where risks emerge, protection must be immediate. Where negligence or exploitation is established, consequences must follow.
Donors also have questions to ask. Are children attending school? Are placements monitored?
15 responses to “From the Shelter of an Orphanage to a Road of Death in Royal Orchard, Multan, the Tragic Fate of Young Waseem Abbas Raises Unanswered Questions About Child Protection, Institutional Responsibility and Accountability”
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Thank you, Daily Financial Times, for highlighting the tragic death of young Waseem Abbas and raising urgent questions about the protection of vulnerable children. Keeping this issue in public view can help ensure that calls for a transparent investigation and accountability are not forgotten.
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Daily Financial Times deserves appreciation for giving space to an issue that touches our collective conscience. Waseem’s story reminds us that children without parental protection need dependable care, effective safeguards and a society willing to speak for their rights.
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Thank you to the editorial team of Daily Financial Times and Dr. Abdul Ghani for drawing attention to this heartbreaking case. The column rightly asks who was responsible for Waseem’s safety and why those responsibilities must be examined through a thorough and impartial investigation.
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Appreciation to Daily Financial Times for highlighting both the tragedy and the unanswered questions surrounding it. Beyond the investigation into Waseem’s death, there must be attention to the safety of other children who may be living or working in vulnerable circumstances.
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We cannot restore Waseem’s lost future, but we can refuse to let his death become another forgotten tragedy. Condemnation must be followed by sustained demands for justice and better protection for children in similar circumstances. No child should have to face danger alone simply because he has no parents to defend him.
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A society cannot consider itself compassionate while vulnerable children remain exposed to abuse and exploitation. The reported circumstances of this death are appalling. Protecting children must mean active supervision, accessible help and timely intervention—not merely expressions of sorrow afterwards.
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By highlighting Waseem Abbas’s story, Daily Financial Times has encouraged an important discussion about what protection in an orphanage should mean. Food and shelter are essential, but children also deserve education, dignity, supervision and freedom from exploitation.
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I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of young Waseem Abbas. No words can adequately express the sorrow of a life lost so young, with so many possibilities still ahead. A child who deserved love, protection and the chance to build a future has left behind painful questions for us all. My sincere condolences go to his relatives, loved ones and everyone grieving his loss. May Allah Almighty grant him the highest place in Jannah and give patience and strength to those who mourn him. May our prayers be accompanied by a lasting commitment to justice and the protection of vulnerable children.
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Waseem’s heartbreaking death has touched people who never knew him personally but recognise the precious life that has been lost. We do not need a family connection to grieve for a child or to feel anguish over his suffering. I extend my deepest condolences to everyone who loved and cared for him. May Allah surround him with His infinite mercy and grant comfort to grieving hearts. At this painful time, let us remember Waseem with dignity, support those mourning him and pray that the truth is established and justice is served.
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Waseem’s heartbreaking death has touched people who never knew him personally but recognise the precious life that has been lost. We do not need a family connection to grieve for a child or to feel anguish over his suffering. I extend my deepest condolences to everyone who loved and cared for him. May Allah surround him with His infinite mercy and grant comfort to grieving hearts. At this painful time, let us remember Waseem with dignity, support those mourning him and pray that the truth is established and justice is served.
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With a heavy heart, I offer my condolences to Waseem Abbas’s loved ones and to everyone moved by this terrible loss. His story reminds us how deeply we depend on one another for kindness and protection, especially in childhood. May Allah grant him eternal peace and the highest place in Jannah, and give courage to those carrying the pain of his absence. As we pray for him, may we also remember the vulnerable children still among us. A meaningful tribute to Waseem would be to listen to them, protect them and ensure that their fears and pleas for help are never ignored.
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Sincere appreciation to the lawyers raising their voices for justice for young Waseem Abbas. Your commitment to defending the vulnerable and pursuing accountability reflects the legal profession’s responsibility to uphold human dignity. By supporting a fair and transparent legal process, you can help ensure that his case receives sustained attention and that every person found responsible is held accountable. **Waseem may have been an orphan, but your efforts send a powerful message that the pursuit of justice for him need not be a lonely one.**
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Thank you, Daily Financial Times, for reminding us that a vulnerable child’s life deserves our attention and concern. Waseem’s death must prompt serious reflection on how children are placed in work arrangements, who monitors their welfare and whether they can safely seek help.
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The reported killing of young Waseem Abbas is heartbreaking and deserves unequivocal condemnation. No disagreement over work can justify violence against a child. The circumstances of his death must be investigated thoroughly, and everyone found responsible must face justice.
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Poverty does not make a child’s life less valuable, and being an orphan does not make him anyone’s property. No employer or caregiver has the right to demand obedience through fear or violence. Waseem deserved safety, dignity and the opportunity to grow.
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