Perspective - Page 11

Insights From the 2023 Census Report

The 2023 Census conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released its complete report in July 2024 indicates that the total population of Pakistan is 240 million out of which the population of children under 18 is 112 Million (47% of the total population). Children Population (under 18) Population under 18 Total Male Female Transgender Pakistan 112,472,700 58,099,978 54,370,121 2,601…

Juvenile Offenders in Punjab

The total number of convicted and undertrial juveniles imprisoned in various borstal institutes and jails of Punjab province was 645 as on 15 March 2022 (Prisons Department, Govt. of Punjab). Out of the total number of juvenile offenders, 81% (523) juveniles were on trial (under trial) and 19% were convicted…

Grace Marks by Sindh Government

In a move as surprising as it is contentious, the Sindh provincial…

deficiencies in Pakistan's education system

The Impact of Pakistan’s Education System

What PM Shehbaz Sharif blurted out recently isn’t quite a national secret.…

Polio-free Promise

FOR more than three decades, Pakistan has fought poliovirus with collective determination, reducing cases by 99.6 per cent. Despite concerted efforts, poliovirus has survived in two countries, posing persistent risk to the health and lives of vulnerable children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As we commemorate World Polio Day 2025, Pakistan…

Smog Season

AS temperatures begin to drop, smog makes an unwelcome arrival in many parts of the country, particularly Lahore and urban Punjab. This health and climate crisis has been brewing for some years, while the state — nudged on by civil society and experts — has begun to take steps to combat the…

Invisible Childhood

THE world rightly sees child domestic workers as modern slaves, while domestic labour is categorised as informal work, or invisible labour. In July 2022, a qualitative study by the International Labour Organisation revealed that one in every four Pakistani households employs a minor, showing a predominance of girls from 10…

A Shot of Hope: Saving Girls from a Silent Killer

When little Sana, a shy 12-year-old from Karachi, walked into her school’s assembly hall last week, she thought it was just another health drive. But when she returned home later that day, proudly showing her vaccination card to her mother, she had unknowingly taken a step that could one day…

Futures Snatched By Force Of Faith

The concerns regarding forced conversion are not a new phenomenon in our part of the world. Almost a century ago the All India Muslim League chalked out the rules for conversion in this region. The All India Muslim League adopted a resolution in December, 1927 at Calcutta which addressed the…

Education Outsourcing

THE Sindh government’s recent plan to outsource school education through public-private partnerships (PPPs) has sparked a new debate. While the move is being portrayed as a step towards improving quality, it raises more concerns than confidence. Punjab has already adopted a similar model, and Sindh has tried partial outsourcing through…

Deadly Bite

IMAGINE a child happily heading to the park to play ball with friends. A stray dog prowls nearby, foaming at the mouth and ferociously gnawing on a bramble. The canine spots the children and lunges at them. Some run away screaming in terror, while one unlucky child is knocked down…

Polio Mountain

THE world’s battle against polio is stuck on a glass mountain. After 37 years and $22bn, the Independent Monitoring Board has declared that conventional strategies are running out of road. Its latest assessment, The Glass Mountain, places Pakistan centre stage. The country has reported 27 new cases this year — small in absolute…

As Thousands of Children Battle Thalassaemia, Gaps in Screening and Policy Continue to put Families at Risk

Seven-year-old Muhammad Aban, from a poor family and currently admitted to Benazir Children’s Hospital in Mardan (BCHM), longs to play with other children but is too weak due to complications from thalassaemia. Diagnosed when he was just 11 months old, he needs two to three blood transfusions every week to…

Floods and Healthcare

DEVASTATING floods are now an annual emergency in Pakistan. Climate change is hitting hard, manifesting in new weather patterns including cloudbursts. Sudden torrential rainfall, which continues relentlessly, can literally move mountains. This phenomenon was observed in many places in the northern parts of the country. The gushing water sweeps away boulders, trees,…