KARACHI: Over 1.6 million children, between five and 17 years of age, in Sindh have been found to be trapped in child labour, revealed the Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–2024. Conducted by the provincial labour department with technical support from Unicef and the Bureau of Statistics Sindh, the survey also revealed that over half (50.4pc) of child labour victims aged 10-17 worked in hazardous conditions, exposing them to excessive hours, extreme weather and unsafe
Child Rights in Focus
The Karachi Police on 4th July said they had arrested the primary suspect allegedly involved in the gang-rape of a girl in Ittehad Town. In a statement issued today, Keamari Senior Superintendent of Police Captain (retired) Faizan Ali said that the Ittehad Town Police had registered the gang-rape case a day ago. He said the incident had occurred on July 1 when the detained suspect had forcibly taken away the victim on his bike
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 3rd July reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to eradicating polio, vowing to intensify efforts with the support of international, provincial, and local teams to achieve a polio-free country. “We are committed to protect every child in Pakistan from this crippling disease and achieve a polio-free Pakistan,” PM Shehbaz said while presiding over a meeting on polio eradication. He stressed the need for “full dedi-cation and seriousness” to ensure every child
WE just saw the release of the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25 and the presentation of the budget for 2025-26. There is a lot that can be said about the economy and the budget, but in this article I want to focus on education and what the Survey and the budget tell us about it and this government’s priorities. All figures in this article are taken from the Economic Survey 2024-25. Empty vessels make the
ISLAMABAD: A special meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on 3rd July approved six Daanish school projects — in regions of Balochistan and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) — with a total estimated cost of Rs19.25 billion. The meeting, chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, was convened at the prime minister’s directives. The approved projects include the establishment of Daanish schools in the Qilla Saifullah district of Balochistan at an estimated
MARDAN: A man from Mardan recounted the tragic incident at the Swat River last week, which claimed at least 16 lives — including his two children, 12-year-old Daniyal and 6-year-old Ishaal. Naseer Ahmed told of his ordeal as he and other people around him were helpless to pull the 17 people of two families from Sialkot and Mardan from the raging waters of Swat River. Speaking to Geo News, Ahmed said: “I called [Rescue]
The Pakistan Education Statistics Report 2023–24 offers an in-depth analysis of the country’s education system, aligning its findings with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for inclusive and equitable quality education. Primarily based on public school data for children aged 5–16, the report examines trends in access, equity, financing, and governance. Between 2022–23 and 2023–24, student enrollment rose by 4.03% (from 56.1 to 58.3 million), and the number of teachers increased by 3.15%. However, the
Pakistan’s educational institutions are facing a growing public health and child protection crisis due to increasing drug use among students. The Pakistan Narcotics Control Board (PNCB) estimates that nearly 44% of college and university students have used illicit substances. With nearly two-thirds of the population under 30, this trend poses a serious threat to the country’s future development and stability. The crisis is driven by structural and systemic factors including academic pressure, poverty, lack
MANSEHRA: The education department has established summer camps for schoolchildren who have migrated to the mountainous Spat Valley in Upper Kohistan district. “We have set up five camps where children from 10 schools can continue learning during the summer season,” deputy commissioner Tariq Ali Khan told a meeting in his office in the district headquarters Dasu. With Mr Khan in the chair, the meeting of the District Schools Coordination Committee decided in principle about
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon has announced that in the next financial quarter the recruitment of 4,400 new teachers, the establishment of four new IBA community colleges, and the granting of financial autonomy to 34,000 public schools would begin in the province. In a statement issued to the press on 01-July-2025, Memon said that thousands of deserving students would also receive need-cum-merit scholarships through the Sindh Education Endowment Fund. He said that funds are
ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus has crippled another child in Pakistan, as Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, on 01-July-2025 confirmed the new case of wild poliovirus. The poliovirus was confirmed in a 19-month-old boy from Union Council Miranshah-3 in District North Waziristan, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This is the eighth polio case from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this year, raising the national tally of polio cases in 2025 to 14, including
Police say children’s mysterious deaths sparked registration of case against mother RAWALPINDI: On 1st July, the court sent a woman to jail on judicial remand in connection with the mysterious deaths of her three children as a result of alleged poisoning. A murder case was registered against the woman after the children died under mysterious circumstances in Mohalla Raja Sultan, within the jurisdiction of Banni Police Station. Police formally arrested the children’s mother and