QUETTA: The Balochistan government on Thursday announced that it has taken the guardianship of a street child, whose video went viral in which he was seen carrying a shoe-polishing kit on a footpath in severe cold weather.

Speaking to Geo News, the provincial government's spokesperson, Liaquat Shahwani, said the video of the helpless child made him very "upset".

"The chief minister has taken responsibility for this [shoe-polishing] child himself," he stated.

“We have already allocated a budget of 50 crore [Rs500 million] for child protection authority and will do effective legislation against child labour," he added.

In the video aired by Geo News, the child was seen crouched in a corner, trying to protect himself from the bitter cold, with a show polishing kit next to him. 

Noting that it was unfortunate for all children, who should be playing at this age, to be stuck in the bitter cold, Shahwani said the government would "legislate against child labour".

"It’s heart-wrenching to look at these visuals. I was very hurt and upset when I saw those visuals," he said.

"It was around 12:30AM, I called and went there in the morning. I’ve been there three times but the child was not there. I have assigned people the responsibility and will go myself once we have the address.