LAHORE: After affecting more 4 million people in Punjab, heavy monsoon rains and floods may lead to water, food and vector-borne diseases as the reports of overwhelming burden of the patients in most hospitals have started surfacing. There are reports that diarrheal outbreaks during the floods may leave dire consequences, followed by dengue. As per the figures so far, 158,000 flood affected people are suffering from various diseases, including diarrhea and skin, eye, and chest-related ailments. Quoting the
Child Rights in Focus
Pakistan’s child protection gaps exposed as adoption scandals reveal unregistered orphanages, weak enforcement, and risks of children becoming paper orphans. The arrest of Dr Mubina Cassum Aboatwala, chairperson of the NGO HOPE, has once again brought into sharp focus the weaknesses of Pakistan’s child protection system. On 6 August 2025, a judicial magistrate in Karachi ordered her into remand custody after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) alleged that the organisation had been involved in trafficking
MANSEHRA: The Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench on September 11 set aside the life imprisonment sentence of a cleric who was accused of sexually assaulting a seminary student in the Perhana area of Mansehra district in 2019. “The lower court had convicted the cleric in 2024, but the Abbottabad circuit bench overturned that verdict,” Advocate Noman Khan Swati told reporters. The two-member bench, comprising Justice Sadiq Ali and Justice Syed Mudassar Amir, announced
PESHAWAR: In a major step towards healthcare reform, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to outsource the management of 24 underperforming hospitals across 18 districts to the private sector. The initiative, announced by Special Advisor on Health Ihtesham Ali, aims to improve service delivery while maintaining free treatment under government protocols. Speaking to the media, Ihtisham Ali clarified that the hospitals being outsourced fall under Category B, C, and D levels and have consistently
A horrific triple murder took place on September 11 in Bhittaiabad, within the jurisdiction of the Malir Cantonment police station where three women were killed with a sharp weapon. According to police, a minor girl, her maternal uncle — who is believed to be the suspect — and a female neighbour were also injured in the incident and taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment. The deceased were identified as Tania, Aashi and
For the first time in Pakistan, the Sindh government has launched an AI-based online training programme for teachers, designed to support educators in adopting faster, more effective and modern teaching practices. To formalise this initiative, the school education & literacy department, Unicef and Khan Academy Pakistan (KAP) signed an MoU at a ceremony, where Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah was the chief guest. The six-month pilot project will train 3,500 teachers from the
KARACHI: A man accused of molesting dozens of young girls was arrested on September 11, from Karachi’s neighbourhood, Qayyumabad in the remit of Defence Police Station. The area residents thrashed the man namely Shabbir Ahmed and handed him over to police. They claimed that the accused sexually assaulted young girls of the neighbourhood. District South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mahzoor Ali said accused Shabbir Ahmed belongs to Abbottabad and has been living in
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Senator Musadik Malik announced on September 11 that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed to prepare a comprehensive 300-day implementation plan within 15 days to address the mounting challenges of climate change, including the risks posed by monsoon rains and accelerated glacial melting. The directives came a day after PM Shehbaz declared a climate and agricultural emergency in view of the ongoing monsoon rains and
RAWALPINDI: Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema on September 11 asked the District Health Authority to take action against 200 health employees under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Disciplinary and Accountability Act for being involved in misappropriation during the campaign against dengue mosquito larvae. He asked the authority not to spare the relevant Deputy District Health Officers (DDHOs) as they kept issuing salaries to them without keeping an eye on their work. A senior official of
LAHORE: As floodwaters have submerged vast swathes in south Punjab, the tehsils of Jalalpur Pirwala and Alipur have become epicenters of an emerging humanitarian crisis, with over 1.4 million people affected by the calamity. In Jalalpur Pirwala tehsil, around 700,000 people have been affected by the flood as most of its union councils have been submerged. A drone camera footage shows floodwater inundating around 35km to 40km area of the tehsil. As most of the villages
THE federal cabinet’s decision to declare a climate and agriculture emergency in the country was overdue given the magnitude of devastation resulting from the floods sweeping across Punjab and beyond. The images of inundated fields in thousands of villages, displaced families, destroyed homes and dead livestock underscore the seriousness of the catastrophe. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a special committee to assess the extent of damage to agriculture, determine how farmers can be compensated and recommend
WHEN schools are closed, especially at times when they are expected to be open, the loss in terms of educational and learning outcomes can be substantial. Out of the 365 days that make up the year, we get only 160 days or so for teaching and learning time, thanks to the weekends and a number of scheduled national and religious holidays. When schools are shut for a longer period, it makes it difficult for