ISLAMABAD: A storytelling and literary event was held for marginalised children at Mashal Model School in Bari Imam. The students presented dramatic renditions of Zeenat Iqbal Hakimjee’s acclaimed short stories, such as ‘From Bad to Good’ and ‘The Honest Taxi Driver’. Despite limited resources, using carts as props, lacking proper uniforms, school shoes, and having very little knowledge of the English language, the students showcased stories with grace. Lacking access to formal education, many
Child Rights in Focus
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on 15th July indicted an underage driver and his father on charges of killing six people in a car accident in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA). ATC-II Judge Irfan Haider directed the prosecution to present its witnesses at next hearing as both accused Afnan and his father Shafqat Ali pleaded not guilty and decided to contest the charges. The judge adjourned the hearing till Aug 22. Previously, the judge had
Girls tell the magistrate they did so of their own free will; parents say they are underage HYDERABAD: After Sanghar district an identical case of alleged abduction and forced conversion of religion of three Hindu girls has surfaced in Tando Allahyar district, where Kolhi and Meghwadh families have also lodged FIRs with the police. Three separate FIRs were registered on Sunday at Sultanabad police station, stating that the young women were kidnapped from different
PESHAWAR: Ten people, including eight children, were killed in separate rain- related incidents across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on 14th July. The deaths were reported in Bajaur, Khyber, Malakand, Kohat and Lakki Marwat districts. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed six deaths. According to it, a boundary wall collapsed in Mamund tehsil of Bajaur, killing a woman. Similarly, two children were washed away in flash floods in Chora area of Jamrud, while a
ISLAMABAD: For the first time in more than two years, all six environmental testing sites in Peshawar have tested negative for poliovirus, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Polio Eradication Lab confirmed on 13th July, even as 11 other samples across the country tested positive last week. Of 24 sewage samples tested, 13 were negative while 11 were positive for poliovirus, an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the NIH
SAHIWAL: An unidentified young woman, along with her two minor children, allegedly died after she threw herself and the kids in front of a running goods train near Ashiana Housing Society, Jhal Road, in the early hours of 13th July. Eyewitnesses informed police that the woman, along with her minor sons, aged one and three years, was walking along the Lahore-Karachi railway track. They said that despite being warned of the approaching goods train
SUKKUR: The mentally challenged girl, who was gang-raped in Larkana’s Ratodero area a day ago, died in a Larkana hospital on 13-July-2025. After being gang-raped by the accused, the victim girl was taken to the Chandka Medical College (CMC) Hospital in Larkana, where she breathed her last. Larkana police claimed to have killed the main accused involved in the incident in an alleged encounter. Larkana SSP Ahmed Faisal Chaudhry said that the accused in
The LaNA 2023 Linking Study is an international education assessment report that measures basic literacy and numeracy skills of primary school students. It was conducted in six countries: Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and the Palestinian National Authority. The goal was to evaluate student performance using easier versions of TIMSS and PIRLS assessments. In Pakistan, most students scored below the international average in both reading and math, though 71% reached the basic math
LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on 12th July denied police further physical remand of an underage car driver and sent him to jail on judicial remand in a case involving death of a young man and injuries to several others in Shahdara Town. The police produced suspect Hashir Umar before the court on completion of his four-day physical remand. The investigating officer informed the court that the process of determining the suspect’s exact age was still
ISLAMABAD: In a step toward achieving a malaria-free Pakistan by 2035, the federal government has completed a study on a medicine, a single dose of which can fight off the malaria bacteria. The results of the study, G6PD pilot project, were formally presented at a dissemination event hosted by the Directorate of Malaria Control (DoMC) in Islamabad, reaffirming Pakistan’s position as a regional leader in malaria elimination. State Minister for Health Dr Mukhtar Ahmed
HYDERABAD: The Sindh Human Rights Commission chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho has urged civil society to ensure provision of timely legal aid and essential needs such as appropriate clothing and safe living conditions to inmates at correctional centres. He said during a visit of Youthful Offenders Industrial School (YOIS) and Women Prison in Hyderabad on July 12 that rehabilitation of women and children was the sole purpose of the establishment of separate prisons for the
LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Peshawar has arrested a suspect linked to the uploading and sharing of child pornographic content on the video-sharing platform TikTok. The arrest follows a Cyber Tipline alert received from the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to official report, a TikTok account was found involved in circulating abusive material involving children. The tipline also flagged a mobile number associated with the account,