KARACHI: The Sindh government has allocated Rs620 billion for the education sector in the fiscal year 2026-27, covering both development and non-development expenditures for primary and higher education. According to the budget documents, an additional Rs24.75 billion has been earmarked for ongoing education schemes, taking the total allocation for these programmes to Rs58.14 billion, up from Rs33.39 billion in the previous financial year. The ongoing initiatives in the school education sector include the provision
Child Rights in Focus
UNITED NATIONS: More than one billion children face at least three overlapping climate hazards, with 34 million in Pakistan, UNICEF warned Monday, while highlighting the disproportionate impact in some regions of the world. For the report, the UN agency cross-referenced data showing where the roughly 2.4 billion children on the planet live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate impacts. They are coastal flooding, river flooding, drought, tropical storms, heat waves
A five-year-old boy died after falling into an uncovered manhole in Lahore’s Sundar area on Tuesday, officials said. The victim, identified as Hassan Amir, was playing in a street near Rana Town, behind a mosque, when he accidentally fell into a drainage pit, according to police and the child’s father. Residents rushed to the scene and managed to pull the child out before shifting him to the hospital. However, doctors could not save his
KARACHI: A fresh surge in measles cases has taken a dangerous turn in Sindh, with more than 2,000 children infected so far this year and 53 losing their lives due to complications. Speaking to The Express Tribune, paediatrician Dr Khalid Shafi said that the nationwide death toll from measles has reached 96. Across Pakistan, over 20,000 suspected cases have been reported this year, of which more than 7,000 have been laboratory-confirmed. According to official
During the fiscal year 2025-26, Pakistan’s economy demonstrated significant resilience and restored macroeconomic stability, achieving a provisional GDP growth rate of 3.70 percent compared to 3.18 percent the previous year. This positive trajectory was driven by a robust recovery across all major economic sectors, with agriculture expanding by 2.89 percent despite the challenges of the 2025 monsoon floods, the industrial sector growing by 3.51 percent on the back of a sharp 6.11 percent rebound
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that parents cannot surrender or extinguish future rights of a minor child, including maintenance and inheritance, through a private agreement or compromise before a family court. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the ruling deciding a petition filed by Waleed Arshad challenging judgments of the lower courts regarding maintenance and delivery expenses of a minor child. Although the petitioner withdrew the petition after reaching a compromise with
SHAKARGARH: Police have registered a case and launched an investigation after an alleged incident of assault involving a minor student at a madrassa in the Rangra area on the outskirts of Shakargarh sparked concern and outrage in the locality. According to police, the FIR was lodged on the complaint of the victim’s father, following which raids have been launched to arrest the nominated suspect. The case involves allegations against a kitchen staff member of
TAXILA: Police in Khor town of Pindigheb foiled an underage marriage and booked eight persons including bridegroom, his mother, bride’s brother and other facilitators under Child Marriage Act. Those who face legal action are those who solemnized the nikkah (marriage contract) and nikkah registrar. According to sources, Noman Ashraf has contracted the marriage of his 16-year-old sister Manahil Ashraf with Mohsin Ali in Kamyial village a few days ago and her departure (rukhsati) was
MANSEHRA: Educationists and heads of schools and colleges from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on June 15 stressed that the government should increase the education budget and take measures to enroll out-of-school children in educational institutions for the prosperity and development of the province. “Around five million children in our province alone are out of schools, which is highly lamnetable and needs to be addressed with sincerity and dedication,” former provincial education minister Inayatullah Khan told
CHAKWAL: Pakistani-Australian family’s vacation following the completion of the holy Hajj pilgrimage ended in an unimaginable tragedy when a nine-year-old girl was shot and killed in an incident involving local law enforcement. The victim, identified as Hania Adeel, was fatally shot when officers from the Crime Control Department (CCD) allegedly opened fire on the family’s vehicle, mistaking them for fleeing robbers. The tragedy has triggered intense grief within the local and overseas communities, leading
The magnitude of drug abuse among students in Karachi continues to get worse, despite intervention efforts by the government and social welfare groups. While reliable data is hard to come by due to taboos around the subject, a 2024 survey by the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board found that 44% of university and college students were engaged in drug use, with one in five schoolchildren having experimented with drugs at least once. Anecdotal evidence from
Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2025-26 offers a useful yardstick to gauge the state of the country’s health and education sectors over the past year. The assessment, however, offers little cause for celebration. Beneath the government’s claims of gradual progress, Pakistan continues to rank among the poorest performers in South Asia on key human development indicators while spending less than 1% of GDP on both health and education. The survey is therefore a record of what