Punjab Launches Crackdown to Make Lahore a ‘Beggar-Free City

By Muhammad Shahzad
Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: The Government of Punjab has launched a comprehensive crackdown on organised professional begging networks, with the first phase of the campaign aimed at transforming Lahore into a “Beggar-Free City.”
The decision was made during a high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Home Secretary Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi at the Home Department, where officials reviewed strategies to eliminate organised vagrancy across the province.
The Home Secretary directed all relevant departments to implement a coordinated and result-oriented strategy against professional beggar mafias operating at public places. The Punjab Safe Cities Authority and Traffic Police have been tasked with identifying and dismantling the organised networks behind professional begging.
Officials informed the meeting that forcing individuals into begging is a non-bailable offence under Punjab law. The amended Punjab Vagrancy Ordinance, 1958, is currently in force to curb organised begging and prosecute those responsible.
Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi stressed that strict action would be taken against the handlers and masterminds of professional begging rings. He said the Punjab government had strengthened the legal framework by increasing penalties and fines to deter organised begging.
He also directed authorities to ensure exemplary punishment for those who force innocent children, women and elderly people into begging. Arrested members of organised begging gangs, he said, must be prosecuted effectively to secure convictions.
The Home Secretary instructed all concerned departments to adopt a coordinated approach and make effective use of modern technology and human intelligence during the anti-begging campaign. He also ordered the development of a comprehensive database of repeat offenders involved in professional begging, alongside an updated record of deserving and underprivileged individuals admitted to welfare homes.
Authorities were further directed to identify begging hotspots and conduct targeted operations. Dr. Qazi said the Punjab government is upgrading welfare homes into centres of rehabilitation and social welfare by expanding their capacity and improving food, healthcare and accommodation facilities. He added that children residing in welfare homes would be provided access to education, while vocational training and skill-development programmes would help needy individuals become financially self-reliant.
Emphasising the role of the public, Dr. Qazi urged citizens to report professional beggar mafias through the police helpline 15, assuring them that the identity of informants would remain strictly confidential.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Social Welfare Saira Omar, Special Secretary Home Zainab Khan, Director General Social Welfare Dr. Shehnshah Faisal, Director General Probation and Parole Shahid Iqbal, Additional Secretary Prisons Roman Burana, Additional Secretary Judicial Abdul Rauf, Chief Traffic Officer Lahore Syed Abdul Rahim Shirazi, AIG Sarfraz Virk, Deputy Prosecutor General Dr. Usman Iqbal, Director Civil Defence Punjab Tasneem Ali Khan, and senior officials from the Punjab Safe Cities Authority, FIA, School Education Department, and Health Department.