Former Chairperson of the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) Ahmed Kamal, while stressing the importance of improved monitoring, has called for province-specific forecasting systems and a nationwide telemetry network to provide real-time data and early warnings tailored to diverse regional contexts. He was addressing participants of a dialogue on “Climate risk to resilience: strengthening governance for disaster preparedness” hosted here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Kamal noted that the country faced 29 major floods
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: At least 80 important medicines are not available in Pakistan, including 25 which have no substitutes, creating serious problems for patients suffering from diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, psychiatric illness, heart disease and for children needing vaccines. Doctors and pharmacists say the shortage of most-prescribed brands is now a health emergency as many patients cannot continue their treatment. Among the medicines with no alternatives is a long-acting injectable insulin for diabetics is missing from
In a landmark step to save newborn lives, the Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) has launched the country’s first neonatal resuscitation guidelines tailored for healthcare providers working in tertiary as well as resource-constrained settings. The guidelines were unveiled at the seventh Aga Khan University Paediatrics & Child Health research conference last week. Pakistan has one of the world’s highest neonatal mortality rates, with a neonate dying every 2 minutes. Prematurity, infections and birth asphyxia cause
PESHAWAR: As health department continues to record incidence of communicable diseases in flood-stricken districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, psychiatrists say that most people face acute stress disorders due to loss of relatives and properties in the affected areas. “Many people are passing sleepless nights as they have lost brothers, fathers, sisters, sons and daughters due to floods. Many wake up and start crying, thinking as if they are dead. These nightmarish conditions are common after
ISLAMABAD: Girl students outnumbered boys in the Intermediate final exam conducted by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), securing 13 of the 17 positions in all five groups. According to the results announced on Tuesday, the overall pass percentage remained 83.19 in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) Part II exam, as 79881 students were declared successful. The pass percentage for HSSC-I remained 62.40 with 60794 students declared pass. In the
SWAT: The recent floods caused extensive damage to the education sector in Swat district, rendering 128 government schools, both for boys and girls, partially or completely unusable. Officials of the district education department told Dawn that the natural calamity hit primary, middle, high and higher secondary educational institutions in multiple tehsils. They said the majority of buildings had suffered structural cracks, boundary wall collapse and damage to roofs and inundated classrooms, leaving them unsafe for teaching activities. The
KARACHI: The rising number of stray dogs in the city has become a serious public safety concern, particularly for children, with over 26,000 dog bite cases and 21 rabies-related deaths reported across the city so far this year. Stray dogs frequently chase and bark at pedestrians, particularly at night and early morning, creating fear and panic among residents.According to Dr Gohar Aftab of Indus Hospital, Korangi Campus alone has reported over 9,000 new dog
KARACHI: The Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) has announced the results of the Intermediate Part-II (Science General Group) annual examinations 2025. The first position was jointly secured by Maira Khan, daughter of Raja Khan Burdi, a student of Government Degree Science and Commerce College Malir Cantt, and Muhammad Haroon, son of Muhammad Aslam, a student of Bahria College Karsaz. Both candidates obtained 988 marks out of 1100 with an A-1 grade. The second
PESHAWAR: The recently announced matriculation results under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar paint a bleak picture of learning outcomes in government schools, raising serious concerns about the government’s commitment to its own promise of prioritizing education. While the PTI-led administration boasts about increasing the education budget and introducing reforms, the ground reality tells a different story. The 2025 metric results have exposed the collapse of the public schooling system, especially
Provincial inspection team discovers manipulated enrolment record LAHORE: A special inspection squad deputed on the orders of Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat has discovered manipulation in official record related to school enrolment. The squad led by School Education Secretary Khalid Nazir Wattoo and Education Task Force Chairman Mazammil Mehmood has been making unannounced visits across districts to verify the factual position on the ground. In Okara, the district education authority chief executive officer
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart, Sikandar Momeni, on August 25, who expressed condolences and assured full support for the victims of the recent floods and torrential rains. The floods have caused extensive loss of life and destruction, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. During the call, Momeni conveyed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and extended sympathies to the affected families. He stressed that Iran
LAHORE: A staggering 3.8 million unsafe abortions have been taking place in Pakistan annually, the official data gathered from hospitals reveals. “The unreported cases of unsafe abortions would take the figures even higher, pointing towards a disparaging state of women’s reproductive health in the country, says a damning report by Population Council based on Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2017–18, Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey (PMMS) 2019, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019. This