Bill proposes fines of up to Rs5m for violations, with up to 6 months prison for assisting minors in creating accounts ISLAMABAD: Senate has introduced the “Social Media (Age Restriction for Users) Bill 2025,” which seeks to ban individuals under the age of 16 from creating social media accounts. The bill was presented by Senators Sarmad Ali and Masroor Ahsan on 21 July, marking a significant step towards safeguarding minors from online exploitation, cyberbullying,
Child Rights in Focus
This past Sunday, two brothers, aged 12 and 15, were tragically crushed under a speeding water tanker near Kala Pul on Korangi Road, Karachi, while they were riding a motorcycle. Their deaths – disconcertingly bringing the total heavy traffic accident tally to at least 140 – sparked outrage and prompted locals to intercept the tanker and set it ablaze. This painful accident is part of a larger problem of reckless drivers operating heavy vehicles
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz met Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer here on 21 July 2025. During the meeting, they discussed the overall political situation and ongoing development projects in South Punjab. Deputy Speaker Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer paid tribute to the chief minister for the construction and rehabilitation of roads across the province. He also expressed gratitude to her for establishing a burn center in Bahawalpur. He
UNICEF Pakistan: 2024 Annual Report Highlights In 2024, UNICEF Pakistan continued to advance the rights and wellbeing of children and women across the country, despite persistent humanitarian, economic, and climate-related challenges. The following are some key programmatic areas covered in the report: Key Results Achieved in 2024: 45 million children vaccinated against polio 2 million children benefited from integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses 1.8 million people gained access to basic water services
Yet another tragic road accident shook the city as two minor brothers riding a motorbike were crushed to death by a speeding water tanker near Kala Pul on Defence Korangi Road. The horrific incident triggered public outrage, with irate residents setting the tanker on fire. According to reports, the water tanker struck the two boys, killing them instantly. Their bodies were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The driver fled the scene following
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed to start “School on Wheels”, “Library on Wheels” and “Mobile Library” projects to promote education in Punjab. “If you study, you will grow,” said Maryam Nawaz while directing the authorities concerned to start “School on Wheels”, “Library on Wheels” and “Mobile Library” projects for the promotion of education in the province. She said, “School on Wheels will provide children in remote and difficult areas with the
ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) disclosed on 19-July-2025 at least 202 people — including 96 children — had lost their lives across Pakistan since the onset of the monsoon season in June this year. The official data painted a grim picture, with Punjab accounting for 123 of the total deaths. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa recorded 40 deaths, Sindh 21, Balochistan 16, and Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported one each. The causes of death
3,795 apply for over 5k vacancies of headmasters, headmistresses LAHORE: The Punjab School Education Department is facing an administrative challenge as government schoolteachers are showing little interest in taking up the role of headmaster and headmistress. According to official sources, only 3,795 teachers have applied against 5,051 vacant positions to head the academic staff across the province. This growing reluctance from the teaching community is being attributed to what they describe as “non-supportive education
THE adage ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ seems apt for the state of Pakistan’s worsening rural-urban education divide. In a country where the education budget is lower than the minimum global standard of 4 per cent of GDP, where 23 million children remain out of school and where the female literacy rate is 52.8pc, the future looks extremely bleak. Pakistan ranks last on the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Index, largely
The report Legal Aid Mapping and Policy Reform on Child Protection in the Brick Kiln Industry, produced by PILER and the Sindh Human Rights Commission, explores child and bonded labour in Sindh’s brick kilns and the gaps in legal aid and justice. Despite existing laws and international commitments like the UNCRC and ILO Conventions 138 and 182, thousands of children remain trapped in exploitative, debt-based labour, denied education and safety. The study reviews federal
Matric board in search of cost effective software for checking papers KARACHI: The results of the 2025 annual matric examinations will be declared by July 31, said the chairman of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK), Ghulam Hussain Soho, on Friday. However, he added that in case of any unforeseen technical or administrative delay, results will be announced in the first week of August. Speaking to The Express Tribune, the BSEK chief said
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has rescued a four-year-old boy from Keamari and arrested three suspected kidnappers — a married couple and the man’s mother — said SIU SSP Shoaib Memon at a press conference at his office on 17-July-2025. SSP Memon said ringleader Jameel Burhan was operating a gang with his wife Meera and mother Mumtaz Begum, alias Pirani, and they kidnapped young boys and girls to use them in schemes involving fake