LAHORE: Child marriage is now a non-bailable crime in Punjab, with offenders facing up to seven years in prison and Rs1 million fine under a sweeping new ordinance promulgated by Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan here on Wednesday. Issued as the Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Ordinance 2026, the law comes into immediate effect across the province, replacing the nearly century-old Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. Promulgated under Article 128(1) of the Constitution while
Child Rights in Focus
PESHAWAR: In a move to eliminate organised begging networks across the province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on February 9 approved the ‘Vagrancy Control and Rehabilitation Bill’ for presentation before the provincial cabinet for consent. He described the proposed legislation a historic and transformative step, saying the bill is aimed at dismantling the “beggar mafia” while adopting a rights based and rehabilitative approach for genuine victims of poverty and coercion, according toa statement
ISLAMABAD: While around a million children were missed during the year’s first nationwide polio campaign, Karachi stood out among the cities with most number of refusal cases. A total of 53,000 refusals were reported from across the country, with 58 per cent reported from Karachi alone, during the vaccination drive, which concluded on Feb 5 in most cities but ran till Feb 8 in Sindh. During the campaign, polio drops were administered to more
TAXILA: At least five people were injured in a suspected rabid dog attack in the village of Hameed of Hazro town on February 8, exposing the alarming failure of local authorities to curb the growing menace of stray dogs despite repeated complaints from residents. The injured have been identified as Khalid Khan, 53, Ameer Muawiya, 17, Inayat Ullah, 10, Muhammad Ayan, 8, and Ahmed, 4, who sustained bite injuries when the dog went on
TAXILA: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has announced that a maternity and child healthcare hospital will be established in Fatehjang during a public gathering held in connection with the inauguration of a water filtration plant at the village Diurnal near Fatehjang. Highlighting clean drinking water as a fundamental necessity, Mr Khan said the newly-inaugurated filtration plant would provide safe and quality water to local residents and help reduce waterborne diseases. The ceremony was
The UN Child Rights Committee has issued its findings on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Pakistan on Feb 5, 2026 following its latest review session. The findings contain the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations on implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989. The Committee welcomed progress on birth registration, including fee waivers in some provinces, but remained seriously concerned about the high number of unregistered children.
PESHAWAR, Feb 06: Peshawar High Court on 6 February granted bail to a juvenile accused after almost three years of his arrest in the 2023 devastating suicide bombing at Peshawar Police Lines which had claimed 84 lives. Justice Sahibzada Asadullah of a single-member bench accepted plea of the accused on statutory grounds under section 6 of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018, as only 10 of the 41 prosecution witnesses have so far been
SUKKUR: A 13-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly abducted from an area in Khanpur Mahar in Ghotki while a video clip has surfaced purportedly showing the girl claiming to have contracted a free-will marriage. A student of class eight, she had gone missing and a kidnap FIR was lodged at the Khanpur Mahar police station on Thursday evening. Her father alleged in the complaint that his daughter was abducted by three suspects. Meanwhile, the girl’s family
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has urged the legislature to enact a clear law governing the dissolution of marriage when a non-Muslim woman embraces Islam, observing that the absence of such legislation for over three decades has created legal uncertainty and hardship. In his recent judgment, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh referred to the Safia Bibi case of 1997, noting that the Constitution, under its principles of policy, protects the institution of marriage and
KHUZDAR: The bodies of two teenagers were found hanging from a tree in the Uthal area of Lasbela district on February 4 in what police believe to be an suicide related to a marriage dispute. Police identified the victims as an 18-year-old boy, Neelo, and a 17-year-old girl, Paro. Both belonged to the Kohli community and were originally from Mirpurkhas district in Sindh, police said. Upon receiving the report of bodies in Kandiaro village,
LOWER DIR: Jamaat-i-Islami deputy chief and former MNA Maulana Attaur Rehman has termed bills on child marriage and domestic violence a ‘conspiracy to erode Pakistan’s Islamic identity’, saying such legislation will not be accepted. He was speaking at the annual function in a religious seminary in Miskini Jandol as chief guest here the other day. Local elders, religious scholars, students and a large number of residents of the area attended the function. More than
KARACHI: A recently conducted government-commissioned survey has revealed that Punjab has better education and health facilities compared to other provinces, while Sindh and Balochistan remain the most underdeveloped province in this regard. These figures come from the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25, conducted by the federal institution, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The survey is carried out every five years; however, this was the first time a digital survey was conducted. According to the