Policy & Law - Page 3

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 entry into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 49 Preamble The States Parties to the present Convention, Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and…

IHC Judgement on Child Marriage Case

Honourable Justice BABAR SATTAR of the The Islamabad High Court Issuing a written order on the plea of a woman seeking recovery of her 16-year-old daughter who had filed an affidavit to say she had tied the knot of her own free will. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the…

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Entry into force: 26 June 1987, in accordance with article 27 (1)…

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Entry into force: 3 May 2008, in accordance with article 45(1). Preamble…

Religious Parties Oppose New Law Against Child Marriage

LAHORE: Leaders of the Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC), including President Sahibzada Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair and Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, have condemned the recently passed child marriage law, calling it un-Islamic and unconstitutional. In a joint statement issued on May 30, the MYC leaders vowed to launch a nationwide protest…

Balochistan CM Bugti Launches Youth Policy

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti formally launched the Balochistan Youth Policy on 30th May in a grand ceremony, describing it as a major initiative to empower the province’s youth and address systemic neglect. “The Youth Policy is one of the best programmes ever introduced for the young people of Balochistan,”…

President Signs Child Marriage Bill Into Law

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on 30th May signed into law the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025, setting a minimum legal age of 18 years for marriages in the federal capital and prescribing punishment for the characters behind violations. While civil society organisations and the Pakistan Peoples…

Child Marriages In Islamabad A Criminal Act Now

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari 30-May-2025 signed “The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025” into a law criminalising child marriages in the federal capital despite opposition from a Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). The National Assembly and the Senate passed the bill separately last week. It was moved…

Actress Saba Features In Unicef’s Child Marriage Awareness Drive

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) on 29th May launched a video campaign featuring its National Ambassador for Child Rights, actor Saba Qamar, to raise awareness about the urgent need to end child marriage in Pakistan. The video urges communities to speak out against the practice, highlights its impact…

Unified National Response To Education Emergency Stressed

ISLAMABAD: Convener of Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights (PCCR) Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan on 26th May highlighted the urgent need for a unified national response to Pakistan’s education emergency. She emphasised the pivotal role of parliamentarians in addressing this challenge and introduced the PCCR’s flagship report, ‘Parliamentary Engagement for National…

Sindh Assembly Allows Bureaucrats To Lead Education Boards In Sindh

KARACHI: Lawmakers finally gave bureaucrats the go-ahead to lead the intermediate and secondary education boards in the province as the Sindh Assembly adopted the controversial bill with a majority vote on 23rd May. The Sindh Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, tabled in the assembly on Jan 27, 2025, contained…

Anti-rape Crisis Cells To Be Set Up At DHQ Hospitals In KP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has planned the establishment of anti-rape crisis cells at all district headquarters hospitals in the province to ensure medical and legal assistance to victims of sexual assaults in line with the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021. It has directed all 26 district headquarters…

Birth, Death Registration Fees Waived

LAHORE: Under the newly-enforced Birth and Death Registration Rules 2025, the local government & community development department has waived all fees related to the registration of births and deaths, as well as issuance of computerised certificates, for a period up to past seven years. The waiver of fees is a…

Drug Testing Bill For Students Rejected

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior rejected a proposed bill aimed at curbing drug use in educational institutions on May 19, despite strong opposition from the bill’s mover, Senator Mohsin Aziz, who vowed not to withdraw the legislation even if the committee disapproved of it entirely. The meeting was…