As the climate crisis continues, children are increasingly exposed to illiteracy, child labour and early marriages LAHORE: Following the devastation caused by the heavy rains and catastrophic flooding in 2022, many people rallied to provide humanitarian aid through food, clothing and medicine for the affected families. However, no amount of aid could restore the futures of innocent children whose lives were upended. Muhammad Arsalan, a 12-year-old boy, was found working at a shop in
Child Rights in Focus
KARACHI: A local study recently published in an international journal highlights how community-driven incentives in rural areas can significantly increase breastfeeding, immunisation, and oral rehydration rates — three critical factors directly linked to child mortality in Pakistan. Published in The Lancet Global Health, the study was conducted by researchers from Aga Khan University’s Institute for Global Health and Development (IGHD). It presents a transformative model for addressing preventable illnesses such as childhood diarrhea and
LAKKI MARWAT: A girl and her mother allegedly died by suicide inside their house in Asgharkhel area of Lakki Marwat district on 9th March, the police said. They said the incident occurred in the limits of Shahbazkhel police station. They said the bodies were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital to complete medico-legal formalities. Mohammad Nawaz, 48, told police in his preliminary report that he was ploughing his fields with a tractor when he
BAHAWALNAGAR: District police booked a landlord and his five accomplices on the charge of raping his minor maid and aborting her child in connivance with two midwives when she got pregnant. The FIR registered with Mandi Sadiq Ganj police on March 7 stated that a landlord of village Matwala, along with his employee, raped his 14-year-old maid, who was an orphan, on different occasions until she got pregnant. After the pregnancy, they asked her
SOMEONE recently reminded me we don’t need great resources for teaching. A good teacher can teach under a tree. While this may have been true in another time, contemporary demands of technological integration in learning necessitate the development of infrastructure and a set of skills for the 21st century. The sad fact is, in most schools and higher education institutions, we clearly do not have the foundations laid for the transformation we are witnessing
TAXILA: Police in Attock have rescued a 12-year-old girl from Khagwani village in Hazro Town after raiding a wedding ceremony. The girl was reportedly sold for Rs50,000 by her stepfather to the 60-year-old bridegroom, a TB patient and a donkey cart driver by profession. Police booked nine persons including the bride’s stepfather, mother, village numbardar, the bridegroom and his siblings as well as a nikah register. According to the police, a man named Tayyab
TOBA TEK SINGH: A young boy was arrested by Chuttiana police on 8th March for allegedly raping a six-year-old girl in Chak 301-GB. According to the FIR registered under section 376 of the PPC, the complainant stated that the suspect lured her daughter to an orchard outside the village, where he raped her. Upon hearing the child’s cries, neighbouring farmers rushed to the scene, but the suspect fled. The rape survivor was shifted to
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed the bail application of a man in a child molestation case. The applicant, Ghazi Khan, was arrested for allegedly molesting a child along with other co-accused in the Malir area on May 6, 2024. A counsel for the applicant submitted that the complainant of the case had raised no objection to the bail before both the trial court and the high court. He submitted that the complainant’s
Two minor siblings riding a motorcycle were critically injured in an accident in Steel Town KARACHI. Five people, including two young siblings, lost their lives while 11 others sustained injuries in separate traffic accidents in the city on March 8. Two minor siblings riding a motorcycle were critically injured in an accident in Steel Town. Six-year-old Gulzadi, succumbed to her injuries en route to hospital, while her elder brother, 12-year-old Abdul Razzaq, died during
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A poor man ended his life by swallowing poisonous pills after his 11-year-old daughter was given as Vani by a village council (panchayat) in Bhagwani Shumali area in the limits of Paharpur Police Station. Before this tragic incident, the panchayat had also taken Rs0.7 million from the poor barber named Adil. The influential local landlords took extreme action against Adil after it was revealed that his nephew and the daughter of
A Karachi court has rejected a jactitation of marriage suit filed by Dua Zehra, the teenage girl who was allegedly kidnapped from Karachi and later found to have married in Punjab in 2022. Civil Judge (East) Muhammad Nouman Jatoi declared her marriage with Zaheer Ahmed, as well as their Nikahnama, valid. In her suit, the girl pleaded with the court to declare the impugned Nikahnama forged and void ab initio for “being a result
A SIGNIFICANT number of children in Pakistan participate in waste-picking for economic survival. Our legal framework, unfortunately, is inadequate in this respect and unable to protect and rehabilitate the children. With rapid urbanisation and population growth, waste generation is growing, overwhelming municipal managements. An estimated 49.6 million tonnes of solid waste is generated in the country each year, according to the 2024 ITA Pakistan Country Commercial Guide. Waste generation is increasing by over 2.4