Some 3,364 cases of child abuse were reported across Pakistan in 2024, according to Sahil’s annual Cruel Numbers report – an alarming figure that should shock the conscience of the nation. The cases, drawn from media reports across all provinces, include 1,828 incidents of child sexual abuse, 1,204 abductions, 241 missing children and 56 children murdered after sexual assault. The numbers are staggering, but likely still underrepresent the true scale of abuse in the
Child Rights in Focus
Vice President International Diabetes Federation Erum Ghafoor has revealed that over 24,000 children and adolescents under the age of 25 in Pakistan are suffering from Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), and their lives are at risk without access to insulin. To support these children, 27 specialized clinics offering free treatment have been set up across the country. Speaking to the media after a luncheon held in her honour at the Karachi Press Club, Erum Ghafoor
The court after hearing the arguments issued a notice to the concerned authority and sought a response. PESHAWAR: A writ petition has been filed in Peshawar High Court (PHC) to stop private schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) from collecting summer vacations fee in advance and various types of fees from the students, including promotion fees. A two-member PHC bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Khurshid Iqbal took up the writ petition for hearing
RAHIM YAR KHAN: Police on 6th May arrested a schoolteacher for allegedly raping a number of schoolchildren in Nawankot town of Khanpur tehsil, some 65km from here. Reports said a resident of Mauza Syedpur of Liaqatpur tehsil approached the Khanpur Saddar police, alleging that his 14-year-old cousin (A) was raped by his teacher (Z) five to six months back who made a video of the act. The complainant said he along with his cousin
KARACHI: Pakistan’s healthcare and disaster response systems are failing to meet the needs of children and older people who are most at risk of death and disease amid extreme weather events related to climate change, Amnesty International said in a new report. Invisible deaths of older people and children during climate disasters in Pakistan documents how increasingly frequent floods and heatwaves are overwhelming Pakistan’s underfunded healthcare system, leading to preventable deaths among young children
THE National Commission on the Rights of the Child recently published its first-ever report of data, challenges and recommendations on the State of Children in Pakistan, 2024. While the state of child rights remains dismal in Pakistan, this government-owned reflective report is a welcome change from the time when similar reports by civil society would not only be rejected, but at times, actively discouraged from being published as that would bring a bad name
KARACHI: Students across the megalopolis took a significant step towards their academic goals as the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK) launched the annual Intermediate examinations 2025 on May 5. The morning shift featured Mathematics Paper-I (for failures) for Pre-Engineering students. Chairman of BIEK Ghulam Hussain Sohoo, Secretary Muhammad Kashif Siddiqui, and Controller of Examinations Zarina Rashid visited the APWA Government College for Women in Karimabad to inspect the examination process. The Chairman expressed
ISLAMABAD: As many as 3,364 child abuse cases were reported from all the four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in the year 2024, according to a civil society report. The report ‘Cruel Numbers 2024’ by Sahil was prepared based on data collected from 81 national and regional newspapers across the country. “The objectives of the report is to present the data on the situation regarding violence against children
Boy dies, parents sustain injuries when dumper crushes their bike KARACHI: A 10-year-old boy, Samamah, lost his life, while his father, Rizwan, 35, and mother, Laraib, 30, sustained injuries when a speeding dumper truck hit the motorcycle they were riding, under the Gulbai bridge, Shershah. According to the injured father, the deceased boy had secured first position in his fifth-grade exams and the family had gone for dinner to Kharadar Food Street to celebrate
ISLAMABAD: On May 04, officials confirmed that wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in sewage samples collected from 18 districts across Pakistan, indicating continued circulation of the virus in several high-risk areas despite intensive eradication efforts. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 38 environmental samples were collected between April 7 and April 17 from 31 districts and tested at the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication. The presence of poliovirus
“State of Human Rights in 2024” is a report of Human Right Commission of Pakistan, which provides a comprehensive overview of the human rights situation in Pakistan during the specified year at federal and provincial levels. The report highlights various issues such as a surge in violence, marked by militant attacks, enforced disappearances, and growing harassment of journalists. Marginalized groups—including women, children, religious minorities, and the transgender community—continued to face discrimination, violence, and inadequate
QUETTA: “Come for the rides, stay for the drops!” The streets of Quetta echoed with the joyful chants of children as Immunity Express “Sehat-ki-Sawari” rolled into action, turning moments of fun into milestones of protection. In the ongoing fight against polio, reaching every last child remains an urgent priority. Despite repeated campaigns, a number of children are consistently missed whether due to refusals, absence during team visits, or because they belong to mobile and transient populations.