DERA GHAZI KHAN: Police have failed to arrest the owner of the private school whose roof caved in, resulting in the death of four schoolchildren and injuries to 20 others, including 16 children. Regional Police Officer (RPO) Muhammad Azhar Akram had issued orders to the district police officer to ensure the immediate arrest of Little Scholars School owner Sheikh Akram. Police claim that special police teams were formed to arrest the principal and raids
Child Rights in Focus
KARACHI: Describing misinformation and rumours as the biggest challenge in the fight for polio eradication, experts on Friday said that Karachi remained a high-risk zone due to persistent virus circulation and population movement. They were speaking at a media briefing on the upcoming Polio Booster Dose Campaign organised at the Karachi Press Club. The attendees included members of the Sindh Polio Eradication Programme, the Sindh Emergency Operations Centre core team and health experts. The
DERA GHAZI KHAN: The parents of the deceased minor students have demanded that the case be registered based on their own complaint, not on the one filed by a government official of the municipal corporation. They believe that registering the case on the complaint of a municipal official is an attempt to protect the responsible officers from accountability. They staged a sit-in to press for their demands. Among the victims was Hania, a child
BAHAWALPUR: Fateh Shah police in Vehari district arrested a man on charge of raping his three minor daughters at Chak 41/KB, Burewala, on May 8. District Police PRO Adnan Tariq told Dawn by cell phone that the suspect was arrested after registration of an FIR on the complaint of his wife on May 5. She alleged that her husband had been raping their three daughters who were 14, 11 and 9 years old for
PESHAWAR/BAJAUR: Eleven civilians, including five children, were martyred and 16 people injured in terrorism-related incidents in Hangu, South Waziristan and Bajaur districts. Officials told Dawn that six civilians were martyred and 14, including two policemen, suffered injuries when terrorists fired mortar shells during a security operation in Hangu. They said that two police personnel were also injured during the crossfire. Officials said that the law-enforcement agencies launched an operation after terrorists took over a
ISLAMABAD: While there are less than 500 clinical psychologists and approximately 270 to 400 psychiatrists for a population exceeding 240 million, violence by parents against children in Pakistan is becoming a widespread issue with reports indicating it is often treated as a private family matter rather than a social crisis. Though the government has passed progressive laws in recent and preceding years, there is an increasing need to address the deeply intertwined societal and mental health needs in the
DERA GHAZI KHAN: At least four minor students died and 16 others, besides two school teachers and as many employees, were left injured, when the roof of a classroom caved in at a private school in the city, allegedly because of illegal construction work at an adjacent building. As per Rescue 1122 and police, the roof of a classroom suddenly collapsed at the Little Scholar School in Block V of the city during the
While Pakistan observes International Domestic Workers Day each June to highlight the rights of domestic workers, the situation in Punjab remains troubling. Despite the passage of the Domestic Workers Act in 2019, it has yet to be fully implemented, leaving over 10 million workers, including children, vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and a lack of legal protection. According to available data, Lahore Division has the highest number of domestic workers (over 4 million), followed by
LAHORE: At least four children were killed and 20 others injured after the roof of a classroom at a private school in Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan collapsed on May 7. According to a preliminary report issued by the district administration, the injured included 16 students, two teachers and two labourers. Rescue officials said emergency teams, assisted by district authorities and local residents, launched an immediate operation to pull victims from beneath the debris. The
RAWALPINDI: A father allegedly shot dead his 16-year-old daughter in the name of honour in Dhoke Noor, an area falling under Wah Cantt police station in Rawalpindi. City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani took notice of the incident, while police registered a case on the complaint of the state. According to police, ASI Yasir Arafat stated that he was on duty with his team when gunfire was heard from the Bhalsair Road side.
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Education has been informed that 17,000 children across 30 union councils in the federal capital are currently out of school, while Cambridge has acknowledged the leak of a Mathematics examination paper and has been asked to submit a detailed report on the matter. Director General of Education, Junaid Akhlaq, told the committee that admissions to federal government educational institutions are being conducted entirely on merit, with capacity
KARACHI: Caregivers of children up to five years of age in Sindh will receive Rs3,000 every quarter for growth monitoring, nutrition counselling and school readiness, as the provincial government rolls out a Rs14 billion Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme. The decision was taken on May 6 at the third board meeting of the Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA), chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The board approved a package of initiatives to