ISLAMABAD: The literacy rate for individuals aged 10 and above in Pakistan rose from 61 to 63 percent, while spending on education faced a decline, according to Economic Survey 2025-26. It stated that male literacy was 73pc and female at 54pc, reflecting a gradual progress and narrowing gender gap. Urban areas continued to have higher literacy rates with a total of 74 per cent (81 per cent for males and 68 per cent for
Child Rights in Focus
RAWALPINDI: Murree police recovered a 15-year-old Hindu girl within 24 hours of her alleged abduction through what officials described as a timely and effective operation. According to police, the girl was recovered from Haripur after special teams were formed under the supervision of senior officers immediately upon receiving information about the incident. Police said the girl, who belongs to the Hindu community, was staying with her parents at a hotel on Mall Road in
ISLAMABAD: Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said on June 9 that nearly 10 million Pakistani children aged between five and 15 are living with diabetes, warning that the country continues to struggle with preventable diseases due to the lack of effective measures to curb the consumption of sugary drinks. Speaking at the inauguration of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Health Services Academy (HSA), the minister called for a fundamental shift from a treatment-based
TOBA TEK SINGH: Jhang police arrested three suspects allegedly involved in the kidnap and death of a first-year college student in the city. Jhang District Police Officer Sajid Hussain had taken notice of the incident and formed a special team that arrested the suspects. On June 7, information was received on 15 that a young girl had been admitted to a private hospital in a critical condition while the people who brought her to
QUETTA: A man shot dead his wife, four children and then took his own life in Wahdat Colony of Brewery Road area on June 8. According to police, Muhammad Asif, son of Musa Khan, who was an employee of the Civil Secretariat, also recorded a video message before killing himself, his wife and the four children. In the video, which immediately went viral on social media, Asif accused two senior officers of the Balochistan
BANNU: Unidentified assailants abducted a school-going student in the limits of Bakkakhel Police Station here on June 9, police said. Sohail Khan, son of Malik Umran also known as Bukhmal, was returning from school when two armed men on motorcycles intercepted him on Malak Zalkala Road and whisked him away. The attackers fled the scene after the kidnapping. Police have registered a case and launched a search operation. Notably, Malik Umran himself was kidnapped
CHAKWAL: Two toddlers were left abandoned after their poverty-stricken parents died by suicide, police sources said on June 6. The incident occurred in Chak Chakora village within the jurisdiction of Dohman Police Station on Friday evening. Mohammad Nadeem, 42, was first married to a close relative. He had seven daughters and a son from his first wife. His eldest son is 25, while his seven daughters are 22, 20, 18, 12, 10, 7, and
CHILD abuse is so prevalent that the UN ranked Pakistan as the least safe country for children. Even so, more than five years after the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020 — Pakistan’s first national child protection law — central provisos, including the agency for rapid alerts for missing children, are lifeless due to shoddy implementation. The Islamabad High Court has taken notice of data from the ICT administration — 562 criminal cases
CHAKWAL: On the orders of the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench, a case has been registered at City police station Chakwal, against Sub-Inspector Mukhtar Ahmad, in-charge of the Special Sexual Offences Investigation Unit (SSOIU), police sources told Dawn on Friday. The case was filed under Section 155C of the Police Order 2002 and Section 166 of the Pakistan Penal Code, on the complaint of Mohammad Mukhtar, reader to the district police officer. The action
SAHIWAL: A woman and her daughter suffered severe burn injuries after her husband and brother-in-law allegedly doused them with petrol and set them ablaze in Shadman Colony on the afternoon of 5 June. Rescue 1122 shifted the injured mother and daughter to Sahiwal Teaching Hospital for treatment. Eyewitnesses said the fire also destroyed household furniture and utensils before the suspects fled the scene. Reports said Sobia Parveen, sister of complainant Muhammad Bilal and a
BATTAGRAM: The police arrested a man for assaulting a boy in the Allai tehsil here on June 5. Banna police station SHO Amjid Khan said the 10-year-old boy was assaulted in a nearby forest, where he was grazing his cattle. Mr Khan said the accused, identified as Naeem, also threatened to kill the minor if he revealed the incident to anyone. The boy told police that he yelled for help but to no avail.
ISLAMABAD: The capital police have registered at least 432 cases of “sexual assault” and “kidnapping” in the federal capital under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) during the first five months of this year, Dawn has learnt. According to the police sources privy to the data, a total of 55 cases of “sexual assault” have been registered during the said period. In one of the kidnapping cases, the victim was kidnapped from