Islamabad : A staggering 2,317 children went missing from Pakistan’s port city of Karachi in 2012, according to a civil society group working to uphold the rights of women and children.

Data collected by the Roshni Helpline states it recorded about these children – both boys and girls – missing from the jurisdiction of 106 police stations in Karachi, Daily Times reported WEdnesday.

On an average, two children from each police station were reported missing every month over the last 10 months.

While releasing the yearly report on missing children, Roshni Helpline head Muhammad Ali said: “If a child (under 18) goes out of contact of family or guardians, he or she is considered a missing child.”

The group, which claimed to have handled 476 cases of missing children during 2012, said it was regretable that only 61 out of 476 cases were registered in police stations as non-cognizable offences with FIRs being lodged.

The actual number of missing children is much higher than the reported ones with the police stations and quoted in the report, Ali said.

Roshni Helpline also collected data from 16 mosques in each town. The mosques made announcements regarding two to three children reportedly missing from the area connected to each mosque per month. These mosques announced thousands of children as missing from their vicinities.