The alleys that are marked by the lurking phantoms of wickedness- they are the journeys that students take. To walk the paths that are the directions to progress, are massacred by cries.

The earliest memories of a child are terrifying warnings. ‘Come straight to home’, ‘Do not talk to anyone’ and ‘Yell if in trouble’ are mere examples of the reality that we have preserved. Why do these exist in the first place? Why are budding existences threatened? Why is their existence a constant state of fear to the guardians? Why are students being targeted?

The liminal pathways that connect identity and progression are vulnerable. The student grows to build shields that can almost guard them. For no one else can.

Sahil Cruel Numbers 2025 highlighted 134 reported cases of student abductions and 56 registered instances of missing children that paint a troubling portrait of childhood. What must be colourful grows into haunting reminders. What lacks structurally attacks the........

© Pakistan Observer