QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti formally launched the Balochistan Youth Policy on 30th May in a grand ceremony, describing it as a major initiative to empower the province’s youth and address systemic neglect. “The Youth Policy is one of the best programmes ever introduced for the young people of Balochistan,” Mr Bugti said at the event in Quetta. He acknowledged delays in its implementation, saying, “This policy was meant to be announced six months
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on 30th May signed into law the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025, setting a minimum legal age of 18 years for marriages in the federal capital and prescribing punishment for the characters behind violations. While civil society organisations and the Pakistan Peoples Party, whose members tabled the bill in the two houses of parliament, hailed the president’s decision despite opposition by religious segments of society as
DEPIx Rankings: National and Provincial Performance in Learning, Inclusion, and Governance (2023) Region Overall Index Score Learning Inclusion: Equity & Technology Goverance & Management National 53.46 47.52 58.67 56.18 Balochistan 45.5 44.94 50.64 48.53 KP 54.47 44.18 52.8 65.94 Punjab 61.39 51.02 75.05 56.4 Sindh 51.55 49.93 54.5 53.28 Source: DEPIx Report 2023
Rising Heat Extremes: Pakistan’s Heatwave Outlook for 2030 and 2050 2030s 2050s Reference Period: 1901-2021 Very Hot Days: Above 35°C Region Days Days Increase % age Days Increase % age Pakistan 114.09 123.56 8.3 135.08 9.32 Balochistan 112.22 124.81 11.22 138.51 10.98 Federal Capital Territory 39.2 45.29 15.54 55.66 22.9 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 33.75 39.1 15.85 45.62 16.68 Punjab 146.24 154.13 5.4 166.73 8.17 Sindh 187.27 198.89 6.2 212.57 6.88 Extremely Hot Days: Above
School Readiness by Province and Gender (MICS) Percentage of children attending the first grade of primary school who attended an early childhood education program during the previous school year. Region Percentage Balochistan Total 34 Male 35.7 Female 31.7 KP Total 82.3 Male 81.7 Female 83.1 Punjab Total 90.6 Male 90.6 Female 90.7 Sindh Total 57.2 Male 57.1 Female 57.4 Source: MICS
Ranking of Pakistani Cities by PM2.5 Air Pollution Rank City Years 2023 2022 2021 2020 1 Lahore 99.5 97.4 86.5 79.2 2 Faisalabad 88.2 84.5 94.2 73.2 3 Peshawar 76.5 91.8 89.6 — 4 Rawalpindi 59.5 48.5 51.4 42.4 5 Karachi 56.4 50.6 45.9 43.8 6 Mangla 50.7 — — — 7 Mirpur Khas 44.6 45 271.3 — 8 Muridke 44.1 46.5 47.6 61.6 9 Islamabad 42.4 40.6 41.1 39 10 Abbottabad
Climate-Induced Internal Migration Patterns in Pakistan (Province-wise) Province Rural to Rural Rural to Urban Urban to Urban Urban to Rural Total All 15.9 60.7 19.7 3.7 100 Punjab 16.2 58.4 22 3.4 100 Sindh 4.8 53.6 33.3 8.4 100 KP 20.2 69.6 8.2 2 100 Balochistan 7.1 70.3 16.3 6.3 100 Islamabad 9.4 48.3 32.3 10.1 100 FATA 16.4 77.1 2.5 4.1 100 AJK 21.8 68.2 7.7 2.4 100 GB 14.4 74.4 9.8
The Sindh Home Department has decided to form a committee of MPAs and police officers to liaise with private schools and colleges for drug prevention. The decision was taken during a high-level meeting, which was chaired by Faryal Talpur, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Home. Officials said that during the meeting, the committee’s agenda items were discussed. Topics included the sale of drugs online, drug use in schools, crackdown on terrorists, prevention of
Status of Juvenile Population at Remand Home Karachi Description Total Juveniles admitted (01.01.2024 to 31.12.2024) 53 Juvenile population as of 31.12.2024 20 Juvenile population as of 17.02.2025 17 Source: Prison Department Sindh
Juvenile Population in Detention Centres (YOIS) in Sindh (2024) (01.01.2024 to 31.12.2024) Name of Jail/ Y.O.I.S Undertrials Convicts Total Male Female Male Female Youthful Offenders Industrial School & C.F Karachi 882 0 172 0 1054 Youthful Offenders Industrial School & C.F Hyderabad 152 0 5 0 157 Youthful Offenders Industrial School & C.F Sukkur 51 0 5 0 56 DP & CF Larkana 93 0 2 0 95 Total 1178 0 184 0
Status of Juvenile Population in Detention Centres across Pakistan (as on 31 Dec 2024) Regions Undertrials Convicted Total Male Female Male Female Balochistan 9 0 14 0 23 KP 292 2 10 0 304 Punjab 684 0 167 0 851 Sindh 286 0 11 0 297 Total 1271 2 202 0 1475 Source: Prisons Department (Balochistan, KP, Punjab, Sindh)
Reported Cases of Child Trafficking and Exploitation in Pakistan Under the Pakistan Penal Code (1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024) Section Details ICT KP Punjab Sindh Total (PPC) M F X M F X M F X M F X 365-B * Kidnapping, abducting or inducing any woman to compel for marriage etc. 0 268 0 22 218 0 588 6647 0 0 2811 0 10554 366-A Procuration of a minor girl.