As Pakistan introduces the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine to its routine immunisation programme and is running the first vaccination campaign from September 15 to 27 in Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad and AJK, the media is rife with all kinds of rumours and elaborate conspiracy theories. Summarily, the HPV vaccine is administered to prevent certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to cancers such as cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal, and head and neck cancers, as well
Child Rights in Focus
GUJRAT: A five-year-old student of a religious seminary was tortured to death allegedly by a teacher and his two accomplices at Karariwala Kalan village in Kharian Saddar police precincts on September 26. Shah Zaman Khan of Swat, who currently resides in Amra Kalan village near Dinga town, alleged in his complaint with the police that he had been informed at around 12 on Friday that his minor son Eesa (5) was in a critical
LOWER DIR: A long delay in the reconstruction of eight schools here has left thousands of students without proper learning facilities, complain residents. Information secretary of the Jamaat-i-Islami Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (north) Engineer Hafiz Yaqoobur Rehman told Dawn in Timergara that authorities razed those schools due to dilapidated condition following the 2015 earthquake but didn’t rebuild them despite repeated public demands and protests. He said the educational institutions included Government Higher Secondary School Rabat, Government
ISLAMABAD: While rabies remains one of the deadliest yet most preventable diseases in the world, claiming nearly 59,000 lives annually, mostly in Asia and Africa. In Pakistan alone, an estimated 1,000 people, mostly children, die every year from rabies, despite the availability of life-saving treatment. World Rabies Day is being observed today (Sept 28), and this year’s theme, “Act Now: You, Me, Community,” underscores the urgent need for awareness and action. “Rabies does not
KARACHI: A teenage girl was allegedly killed in celebratory gunfire by her uncle during a wedding ceremony in Shah Latif Town on September 27, police and hospital officials said. Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the girl, Fatima, aged 17 or 18, was brought dead on arrival at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in the early hours of the morning, with a single gunshot wound to her neck. She said the victim’s post-mortem
MUZAFFARABAD: At least five police personnel, including an SHO and a woman constable, and one demonstrator were injured on September 27 when a protest against the murder of a six-year-old girl turned violent in Khuiratta, in the southern Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The clash erupted after protesters, staging a two-day sit-in at a busy roundabout on the call of Tehreek-i-Labbaik leader and former assembly candidate Arslan Ghazi, blocked all entry and
RAWALPINDI: In a bid to address the ongoing financial and economic crisis, the Punjab Education Department has resolved to privatise a further 10,000 primary, middle, and high schools by the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, 2026. Preparations are already underway, with lists of the schools earmarked for privatisation currently being compiled. Notably, this marks the first time that high schools will also be included in the privatisation drive. Over the past
RAWALPINDI: The Matriculation Second Annual Examinations 2025, organised by the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (RBISE), are scheduled to commence on September 29. All necessary preparations have been finalised, and candidates have been issued their roll number slips. Regular candidates can obtain their slips through their respective institutions’ portals, while private candidates have received theirs at the addresses provided on their admission forms. In a joint statement, Board Chairman Muhammad Adnan Khan
FAISALABAD: Police recovered two abducted newborns and arrested four suspects, including a couple, in separate operations at Lari Adda and Kohistan Adda. The rescued infants were reunited with their families. Police records show that 186 abduction cases of minors were reported across Faisalabad district between January and September 25, 2025. City Police Officer (CPO) Sahibzada Bilal Umar handed over one baby at Police Lines and the other at the child’s residence in Chak 215-RB.
LAHORE: A World Obesity Federation report has raised the alarm over the rapid increase of obesity among schoolchildren in Punjab, warning that the province is on course for a severe diabetes crisis if swift action is not taken. The international study places Pakistan fifth worldwide for childhood obesity, with Punjab showing the fastest rise in both overweight students and related health complications. It highlights that nearly 28 per cent of Pakistani children are overweight,
ISLAMABAD: During proceedings on a case concerning the proliferation of narcotics in educational institutions, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) was presented with a performance report from the federal police, detailing operations conducted between January 1 and August 31, 2025. The report was submitted in compliance with an earlier directive issued by Justice Raja Inam Ameen Minhas, who had instructed the police to provide a comprehensive account of anti-narcotics efforts undertaken during the year. The
FAISALABAD: Police claimed to have arrested one suspect and are conducting raids to apprehend others following a series of separate sexual assault incidents targeting women and a minor child across various districts of the city, according to official reports. The incidents, detailed in First Information Reports (FIRs), outline a disturbing pattern of crimes occurring over recent days. In the first case, reported in the Balochni police precinct, Waqas and Awais, allegedly abducted a 17-year-old