The Supreme Court on 07-August-2025 disposed of a petition with regard to the kidnapping of a girl after the statement of the girl who deposed that she married of her free will. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi inquired the girl whether she married with her free will. The girl replied that she married with her free will and she was not kidnapped. She submitted that she converted to Islam out
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 07-August-2025 termed Pakistan’s annual population growth rate of 2.55 percent an alarming trend requiring immediate and coordinated policy action at the national level to address the issue. The prime minister chaired a meeting at the PM Office to review the challenges posed by Pakistan’s rising population and to deliberate on effective strategies to manage it, an official news release said. “We need comprehensive planning to ensure our growing
CHILD trafficking is the most repellant avatar of human sale. Not new to Pakistan, it reduces minors to easy commodities. In this context, the FIA’s arrest of Dr Mubina Agboatwala, who heads the NGO HOPE, following complaints by US consulate authorities about her alleged role in the “illegal business of trafficking minors” is unsettling news. The complaint, according to the FIR lodged, lists three adoption visa cases, noting that the centres named in the
ISLAMABAD: Although the government managed to secure parliamentary approval for an ordinance promulgated to satisfy Maulana Fazlur Rehman and a group of seminary boards, their registration may be hampered by the fact that the law only applies to the capital territory. During Wednesday’s proceedings, the National Assembly passed the Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2025, allowing religious seminaries to get registered with the authority of their choice — the federal education ministry’s Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE),
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal has said breastfeeding is not just a personal or maternal responsibility but a national obligation that requires collective action from families, healthcare workers, employers, policymakers, and media. Terming breastfeeding “a lifeline and a child’s first vaccine”, the minister said promoting breastfeeding was an investment in Pakistan’s health, economy, and gender equality. In a statement issued in connection with World Breastfeeding Week,
A 40-year-old woman was shot dead allegedly by her husband during a domestic dispute in Lyari’s Mirza Adam Khan Road area on 05-August-2025. The Chakiwara police said that the victim, identified as Bakhtawar, wife of Nawab, was taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi, where doctors confirmed her death. The victim was the mother of seven children. The police stated that Nawab allegedly shot his wife during a heated argument over a phone call. The
ISLAMABAD: A new case of wild poliovirus has been confirmed in a five-month-old baby from Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing Pakistan’s total number of polio cases to 19 so far this year, the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) said on 05-August-2025. Officials at NEOC have expressed serious concern over the ongoing transmission of poliovirus in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing the situation as “alarming” and warranting immediate and focused action. “Southern KP remains
KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on 5th August sent the chairperson of a non-governmental organisation to prison on judicial remand in a child trafficking case. On Monday, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested Mubina Cassum Aboatwala, chairperson of the Health Oriented Preventive Education (HOPE) after a court dismissed her pre-arrest bail plea. The FIA claimed that it had received a complaint from US authorities regarding the suspect’s involvement in the “illegal business of trafficking
QUETTA: Over 650,000 children across Balochistan have received emergency treatment through ChildLife Foundation’s Children’s Emergency Rooms and Telemedicine Satellite Centres (TSCs). This achievement has been made possible through the partnership with the Balochistan government. The ChildLife Foundation operates a state-of-the-art Children’s Emergency Room at Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta, along with 32 TSCs in secondary care hospitals across Balochistan. Together, these centers ensure that critically ill children have access to 24/7, free-of-cost emergency care. “Every
The literacy rate for Pakistan is among the lowest across the world. At 58 percent, the rate is comparable to that of Nigeria (62pc) and Sudan (60pc), while all South Asian peers rank significantly higher. To address this issue, a common approach has been to argue for greater public investment in education. While this remains critical, it is important to consider the other dimension to this problem: how a country’s economy rewards an individual’s
MINGORA: Stressing the need for introducing sweeping educational reforms under a uniform curriculum and language to promote national unity and equality, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on 03-August-2025 reiterated his party’s resolve to build a state that prioritises peace and makes education its central pillar. Addressing the graduation ceremony of 1,200 young boys and girls held under the “Bano Qabil Programme” at Wadudia Hall, Saidu Sharif, here, he said that if given the
Naheed, a Hafiz-i-Quran from Mirpurkhas and mother of two, has spent the last eight years within prison walls awaiting a decision on her pending appeal. Her embroidery and crochet work, sold through a prison-run sewing centre, sustains her children on the outside. The failure of her case is not rooted in legal ambiguity — it lies in the systemic absence of legal representation, because the lawyer, assigned to her by the Committee for the