Sir: Children are the most beautiful and sensitive creatures on this earth. Their soft hands are meant to play with toys and hold crayons for drawing, but sadly in our country, they are subjected to labour in their early childhood and no end to this cruel practice seems to be in sight. Whenever I go outside, I see so many children begging, working in hotels and mending shoes to earn a few bucks. The time they spend on the streets in begging and working should actually be spent in schools with books. My heart bleeds for these hapless children, and it hurts even more when I see the authorities doing nothing to end this deprivation. It is the responsibility of the government to see to it that every child goes to school and that its citizens are provided with the basic necessities, so that they do not have to send their children to work. AMNA BIBI Karachi