LAST month, I travelled through Pakistan’s four provinces to oversee UNFPA projects and initiatives. I also engaged with partners to get their perspectives on development amid the recent geopolitical and funding challenges. During these visits, I connected with various partners, officials and intellectuals. One particularly moving — and painful — conversation was with Sania, an exceptionally talented 18-year-old from a remote village. Reflecting on her brief life journey, Sania shared some of her memories
Child Rights in Focus
Passenger pulls five-year-old back inside car ISLAMABAD: A minor boy narrowly escaped a ‘stunt-oriented’ road mishap on Srinagar Highway between G-9 and G-10 on Thursday. The child, approximately five or six years old, was seen hanging dangerously out of a Baleno car window. Only his legs remained inside the vehicle while the rest of his body was outside. An eyewitness, a mother named Amna, reported that the boy lost his balance and nearly fell
Recent data published by the interior ministry has revealed that our capital city has had 200 cases of child sexual abuse registered between January 2021 and June 2025. While the high number of cases is a major crisis in its own right, what makes it even more harrowing is that this bitter reality exists in the country’s capital itself. At an estimated population of over 1 million, Islamabad fares ahead of all urban and
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority on August 20 said the death toll from the recent flash floods in the province had reached 385, with 182 people suffering injuries due to the natural calamity. In a statement issued in the provincial capital, the PDMA said Buner district had recorded the highest number of 228 deaths in flood-related incidents, while 41 people were killed in Swabi. Meanwhile, Swabi deputy commissioner Nasarullah Khan revealed
LAHORE : A meeting was held in the Specialised Health Care and Medical Education Department under the chairmanship of Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique and Secretary Health Azmat Mahmood regarding the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme. During the meeting, a detailed review of the programme was held. Khawaja Salman Rafique was briefed on the monitoring framework, service delivery and steps taken for the convenience of the patients. During the meeting, the report
The Punjab government has approached the Sindh government to initiate a teaching licence system in the province, similar to Sindh’s. A delegation from the Punjab Education Department met Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah to consult on policies and experiences regarding the process of issuing teaching licences. The meeting in Karachi was attended by Focal Person for the Chief Minister Punjab’s Advisory on Education Shakeel Ahmed Bhatti, Punjab Education Secretary Khalid Nazir Wattoo,
Rawalpindi: The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi on August 20 announced the results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC-1) (9th Class) Examination 2025. The results were declared at 10 a.m. in a ceremony held at the board office, attended by Chairman BISE Rawalpindi Muhammad Adnan Khan, Controller of Examinations Tanveer Asghar Awan, Secretary Professor Amjad Iqbal Khattak, and other senior officials. According to official figures, a total of 128,453 candidates submitted
The Balochistan Child Labour Survey (BCLS) 2023 provides unique information about the living conditions of children in the province as well as their daily activities, including schooling, working, and household chores. The survey employed a two-stage stratified sampling strategy to ensure district-level representativeness across urban and rural areas. In the first stage, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) selected Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) within each Tehsil. In the second stage, following a listing exercise,
ISLAMABAD: Security threats continue to hinder Pakistan’s nationwide polio vaccination efforts as officials reported on August 20 that nearly 800,000 children continually miss their vaccinations, and in response to pressure from donors, a new goal is set to halve this number in hard-to-reach areas of the country. The challenge was outlined by a high-level Rotary International delegation visiting Pakistan, which announced that concerted efforts would be made to improve coverage during the upcoming polio campaign
The interior ministry revealed on August 19 that out of 567 sexual abuse cases registered in Islamabad between January 2021 and June 2025, 200 involved children. Responding in writing to Senator Shahadat Awan, the ministry detailed that among the child victims, 93 were boys and 108 were girls. A total of 222 accused were arrested in connection with these cases. However, only 12 have been convicted so far, while 163 remain under trial, 15
TWENTY-ONE children have been paralysed by polio in Pakistan this year, the latest two in Kohistan and Badin. Each new case is a painful reminder that we remain one of only two countries where the virus still spreads. That a disease wiped out in most of the world still stalks our children is not just a health failure, it is a governance crisis. Billions of dollars have been invested in our eradication programme over
PESHAWAR: Following the devastating floods in northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government has closed all educational institutions in the winter zone for a week to “protect the lives of students and staff members.” The natural disaster has killed over 360 people and injured 181 in different districts, mostly in Buner, lately. The other affected districts include Swat, Shangla, Bajuar, Lower Dir, Battagram and Mansehra. Swabi recorded 23 deaths on Tuesday. The education department said