Identity

Balochistan To Digitise Birth And Death Registration

QUETTA: Balochistan government has decided to integrate Bolan Medical Complex and Sandeman Provincial Hospital with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for registration of birth and death certificates, Local Government and Rural Development Secretary Abdul Rauf Baloch said on 13th May. Mr Baloch called the initiative a significant move towards digitisation. “The birth and death certificates have already been…

No Inheritance For Adopted Minors

LHC upholds family court ruling, declares oral adoption invalid and sides with biological parents LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has upheld a family court’s ruling, declaring that biological parents have the preferential right to a child’s custody, declaring the oral adoption arrangement unjustified. The court further observed that the…

Wounded Childhood

PAKISTAN is unkind to its children. The NCRC’s State of Children in…

Birth, Death Registration Fees Waived

LAHORE: Under the newly-enforced Birth and Death Registration Rules 2025, the local…

Punjab to issue Smart Cards, Motorcycle Licences to 16-Year-Olds

Following the arrest of hundreds of students, young motorcycle riders and other traffic violators — and a surge of bail seekers crowding Lahore’s courts — the Punjab government has moved to ease immediate enforcement pressures and launch a large public-awareness drive on the province’s new, stricter traffic rules. The shift…

Ghost Commitments: Pakistan’s Child Rights Crisis

This year on Universal Children’s Day, as Pakistan prepares for its 2025 review by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, I’m forced to reflect on a 35-year-old promise. In 1990, Pakistan was one of the six initiators of the World Summit for Children, a champion for the…

Islamabad Residents Can Now Get Birth, Death Certificates Online

ISLAMABAD: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) have signed an agreement on November 26 for the implementation of the CRMS mobile application, aimed at revolutionising municipal service, including birth and death certificates. “The agreement was signed on behalf of MCI by Chief Officer,…

Body Formed to End Child Exploitation at Mauripur Truck Stand

KARACHI: A four-member committee has been formed to take legal action against those involved in exploitation and sexual abuse of children at the Mauripur truck stand. The committee was formed by Keamari Deputy Commissioner Raja Tarique Hussain in response to a Dawn article — The ‘kept’ boys of Mauripur —…

Commission Disposes of 113 Missing Person Cases in 14 Years

ISLAMABAD: The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances disposed of 113 cases in September 2025, raising the total number of decided cases to 8,986 out of 10,636 received since its inception in March 2011. According to the commission’s monthly report, 1,650 cases were still under investigation. The overall disposal rate…

Students Below 18 ‘denied’ Right to Apply For Domicile, Scholarship

TOBA TEK SINGH: The change in the procedure for obtaining stamp papers, introduced by the Punjab Board of Revenue (BoR), is causing problems for the students under the age of 18 years who apply for domicile and provincial government scholarship. The BoR has changed the procedure, making it mandatory to…

Birth, Death Registration Free Under New Rules: Speakers

TAXILA: To raise awareness about the newly introduced Birth and Death Registration Rules, 2025, a seminar was organised by the district administration in collaboration with the local government and Community Development department at the District Council Hall in Attock on 1st August. Officials, including the deputy director of local government, delivered…

SC Urges Responsible Media Coverage Of Criminal Cases

ISLAMABAD: Highlighting the legal and ethical ramifications of media coverage during criminal investigations, the Supreme Court on 7th July urged media professionals to exercise responsibility in order to safeguard the rights of both the accused and victims while reporting on criminal proceedings. “A disproportionate and excessive media spotlight and the…

NADRA Amends ID Card Rules

Birth registration with union council made mandatory ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has implemented major amendments to the National Identity Card (NIC) Rules, 2002, in an effort to modernise the system. The changes are designed to enhance security of the NIC system, curb fraudulent practices, and ensure…

Sindh, Unicef To Develop Five-year Plan For Out-of-school Children

KARACHI: The Sindh government, in collaboration with Unicef, has decided to develop a five-year multi-sectoral roadmap aimed at addressing the education needs of out-of-school children and adolescents. Under this initiative, a strategy will be formulated to identify and eliminate barriers hindering access to education. A key meeting regarding the development…