Literacy Rates in Pakistan by Gender and Province (2023) Literate % Total Male Female Transgender Pakistan 60.65 68 52.84 40.15 Balochistan 42.01 50.5 32.8 24.97 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 51.09 64.57 37.15 44.67 Punjab 66.25 71.98 60.19 41.3 Sindh 57.54 64.23 50.21 37.45 Islamabad Capital Territory 83.97 88.23 79.13 47.04 Source: Census 2023
Child Rights in Focus
TAXILA: The local administration sealed five educational institutions for the violation of government directives regarding summer vacations and registered a case against an owner. The crackdown came in response to complaints from parents that several private schools were not complying with the summer vacation orders and also collecting advance fees for up to three months. A team led by Assistant Commissioner Taxila Zaryab Sajid Kamboh paid snap visits to schools and colleges and sealed
HYDERABAD: Police arrested a man a few hours after he attempted to sexually assault a four-year-old girl in the Pinyari police limits of the city two days ago. After the incident, the mother of the minor girl had contacted the Pinyari police for action. Hyderabad SSP Adeel Hussain Chandio, upon receiving information about the incident, had issued orders for an immediate inquiry and submission of a report. Incharge Human Rights Cell Maria Sariyo and
LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on 29th May formally launched the enrolment campaign in the ‘Nawaz Sharif Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Education’ by ringing the pre-school bell. The centre has introduced colourful classrooms and modern teaching methods. Muhammad Yousuf, younger son of Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, is among the first to enroll in the centre. The CM also unveiled official uniform of the centre. She interacted with children and their
NAROWAL: Sialkot police have initiated a crackdown against underage drivers and imposed 1,397 fines, booked two, and took 98 motorcycles into custody. Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Faisal Shahzad told Dawn that police launched the crackdown to curb underage motorcycle, car and motorcycle rickshaws drivers. He said that special teams of the traffic police had erected checkpoints in Sambrial, Daska, Pasrur and Sialkot and checked driving licences of motorists. He said the teams fined
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) on 29th May launched a video campaign featuring its National Ambassador for Child Rights, actor Saba Qamar, to raise awareness about the urgent need to end child marriage in Pakistan. The video urges communities to speak out against the practice, highlights its impact on young girls, and calls for unified action to protect children and empower girls across the country. “Why should any child in Pakistan be
LAHORE: A powerful storm accompanied by torrential rains and lightning wreaked havoc across parts of Punjab on 29-May-2025, leaving one child dead and eight others injured in multiple incidents. In Bahadur village, Attock, a child lost life after a lightning bolt struck the area. The same strike also left five other children with burn injuries. Locals reported that the children were playing outdoors when lightning struck. Emergency responders rushed to the scene and shifted
Despite a desperate overnight search by their families, the children remained untraceable until 7:30am the next day HAFIZABAD: The bodies of two young cousins were discovered in a locked metal trunk inside a relative’s home. Eight-year-old Ahmed Ali and seven-year-old Arshman Ali went missing on the evening of May 28 after leaving home to play. Despite a desperate overnight search by their families, the children remained untraceable until 7:30am the next day. A foul
RAWALPINDI: More than 9,600 textbooks, which were to be provided to students by the Punjab government and had been stolen from the well-guarded Directorate of Education on Murree Road, have been recovered by the police. Two individuals—a junk dealer who purchased the stolen textbooks and another person involved in the theft—were detained with the help of Safe City cameras, the Rawalpindi police said. However, the security guard of the Directorate of Education has been
BAHAWALPUR: The Government Girls High School in Sammasatta, one of the oldest government institutions in Bahawalpur district, is facing multiple problems, affecting the education and well-being of its 2,000 students. The school, spread over eight kanals, has only 18 classrooms with 23 sections, forcing students to sit in an open steel and iron-erected shed, braving extreme weather conditions. The shortage of classrooms has led to classes being held in the school’s verandas, which have
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has underscored the need that courts, particularly family courts and judges of the district judiciary, must hear and respect the voice of the child in cases relating to their custody and guardianship. “This is not an aspirational goal but a binding obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),” Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah wrote in a judgement on a case related to the custody of
In a horrifying incident of domestic abuse, a man subjected his two minor stepdaughters to torture in the Shah Nawaz Bhutto Colony area of North Karachi and fled the scene. The girls were severely injured after they were brutally beaten up by their stepfather Shehryar, alias Sherry, who fled after committing the crime. Police have registered a case of attempted murder against the stepfather. According to police, the case was registered at the Khawaja