Arifwala: Police have been unable to find any clue of an 11-year-old child, who has been missing from Punjab’s Arifwala Tehsil since May 7, despite the registration of a first information report (FIR) eight days ago.

Ali Shan along with his family members visited a relatives’ home in the village of Arifwala for an engagement ceremony. His parents and other siblings returned to their home in Raiwand, while Shan extended his stay there, according to the FIR.

Shan was playing with his cousins outside the home on May 7 but he did not return home.

His relatives and parents looked for Shan on their own for three days but they found no clue about the missing boy and feared he was abducted, according to the parents. They, then, contacted Ringshah police station for his recovery.

However, the FIR mentioned the complaint date as May 8.

In 2021 at least 438 cases of missing children were reported across the country, according to a report published by Sahil, a non-governmental organization working for the protection of children, especially against child sexual abuse.

The former government took a major initiative against the crime and established an agency under Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act in 2021 for the expeditious recovery of missing and abducted children. The agency is required to issue alerts on missing children and maintain an online database.

As per the law, police officials have to register an FIR within two hours of receiving a complaint, while the law urged that trials of the cases will be completed within three months.

However, no such complaint system was established in Arifwala Tehsil.