KHYBER: The Khyber district administration has released one month’s salary of five teachers of as many community schools in Upper Bara area. Sources in Upper Bara said that the district education department had earlier refused to ‘own’ these five community schools and pay salary to its teachers despite repeated appeals from the local community. They said that these schools were established by NGO Dosti Welfare Organisation about a year ago as there was no
Child Rights in Focus
KHUZDAR: Police safely recovered Asma Jattak, who was abducted two days ago from Khuzdar, during a raid in Zehri town on 8th February and arrested 14 suspects. However, the main accused, Zahoor Zehri, remains at large. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Kalat Range, Sohail Khalid, confirmed the recovery at a press conference, alongside Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Yasir Iqbal Dashti and SSP Javed Zehri. Asma Jattak was also produced before the media on the occasion.
The current legal framework in Pakistan, particularly the Guardian and Wards Act 1890, struggles to establish clear guidelines for visitation rights, resulting in inconsistent court rulings that can negatively impact children’s well-being. This situation leads to an unfair distribution of visitation time between parents, a lack of defined welfare standards for minors, and insufficient monitoring of custodial arrangements, which may cause emotional and psychological challenges for children. There is a pressing need for legislative
ISLAMABAD: Climate change has significantly disrupted education worldwide, with students in Pakistan losing 97 school days — 54 percent of a typical academic year — between 2023 and 2024. This alarming statistic was highlighted during a panel discussion titled, “Climate Education: Safeguarding and Empowering Children and Youth in a Changing World” under the two-day global conference on climate change Breathe Pakistan, organised by the Dawn Media Group. Participants noted that Pakistan ranked 7.8 out of 10 on the Climate Change
MANSEHRA: The Upper Kohistan administration on 7th February claimed that anti-polio drops had been administered to children in the district’s snowbound areas as well. “Our vaccination teams have covered snowbound parts during the ongoing drive, with anti-polio drops being given away to 681 out of 763 targeted local children,” Upper Kohistan deputy commissioner Tariq Ali Khan told reporters. He said that a total of 34,296 children had been vaccinated against polio across the district.
MUZAFFARGARH: A man’s heartless act of hanging his child from a tree was thwarted as the child’s screams attracted locals who rescued him in Basti Makwal in the Shahjamal police area. The police responded a call and saved the four-year-old boy’s life on the night of February 6. Four-year-old Muhammad Wasay’s neck bore marks of the rope used in the attempt. The father, Jameel, took him to an orchard, tied a rope around his
RAWALPINDI: A teenage pregnant girl was allegedly murdered while a man was gunned down by his rivals over an old enmity in the Civil Lines police area, the police said on 7th February. Syed Ahmad, a resident of Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, lodged an FIR with the police that his 17-year-old daughter was married to his nephew Zardad Khan. He said on receiving a phone call from his uncle, he rushed to Holy Family Hospital (HFH)
Quetta. The high-profile abduction of a 17-year-old girl in Khuzdar named Asma Jattak, echoed in the Balochistan Assembly on February 7 as lawmakers strongly condemned the incident, urging authorities to take swift action for her recovery. They expressed their serious concern over the issue, emphasizing the need for immediate intervention by the authorities. Prince Omar Ahmedzai, a treasury bench member, announced that a tribal Jirga would be convened to discuss the matter and determine
The doctors examined the body and confirmed that Ali Raza had been tortured and strangulated to death. Jaranwala. A 15-year-old employee working at a spare parts shop in Medina Town was allegedly strangulated to death by the shop owner and two accomplices. Muhammad Buta, a resident of 408-GB, reported to the police that his 15-year-old son had been working at the spare parts shop for five years. On February 3 at 11am, Arif Hussain
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training on 6th February said that the abandoned hostel building of H-8 College had been converted into a fashion school. The Islamabad campus of Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) Lahore in the building has been inaugurated. This institute will offer undergraduate and graduate courses and will focus on diverse fields of fashion including fabric, dress designing, leather, furniture, shoes and gem and jewellery etc, said
Wash in Schools Schools 2023 Basic water services (%) Basic sanitation services (%) Basic hygiene services (%) Total Primary Secondary Total Primary Secondary Total Primary Secondary 35 47 34 42 42 48 – – – Source: UNICEF (State of World’s Children 2024) Wash in Healthcare Healthcare facilities 2023 Basic water services (%) Basic sanitation services (%) Basic hygiene services (%) Basic waste management services (%) 75 16 55 4 Source: UNICEF (State
AIDS-related Mortality Per 100,000 Population Children 0–14 Adolescents 10–19 Adolescent girls 10–19 Adolescent boys 10–19 1.01 0.09 0.08 0.09 Source: UNICEF (State of World’s Children 2024) Number Of Children Living With HIV Children 0–14 Adolescents 10–19 Adolescent girls 10–19 Adolescent boys 10–19 8,300 5,100 2,000 3,100 Source: UNICEF (State of World’s Children 2024)