LAHORE: A 12-year-old domestic worker was allegedly tortured by his employer in the North Cantt area. The victim, identified as Ali Sarwar, was reportedly abandoned far from his employer’s home after his condition deteriorated due to the alleged abuse. Locals found the boy in a distressed state and alerted the police. Patrolling officers responded to the scene and shifted the victim to the hospital. Police officials stated that the extent of the injuries and
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: Over 7,500 students demonstrated their mathematical abilities in the Pakistan Mathematics Olympiad (PMO) held on 8th December across 69 examination centres. According to the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), it successfully conducted the PMO 2024 in collaboration with the Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) and the Islamic World Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Icesco). The board said the event was designed to identify and nurture mathematical talent among secondary
ISLAMABAD: As 26 million children remain out of schools despite an education emergency and enhanced focus on this problem, the new educational framework has called for a two-pronged approach to address this issue, while also saying that the sector “remains on the outer margins of policy priorities”. The ‘National Education Policy Development Framework’ is expected to be launched by Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal in the capital today.
PESHAWAR: The reluctance of parents to immunise their children has been causing deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria as both ailments have caused 78 deaths in the province this year so far, according to health experts. They said that non-vaccination caused 48 deaths due to measles and 30 from diphtheria in the province in the current year, prompting health department to launch province-wide vaccination campaign later that month. The provincial director
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed petitions of infant formula milk importers against vires of the Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breastfeeding and Young Child Nutrition Act 2023. The petitioners, Nutrico Morinaga and others, had submitted in the petitions that the breastfeeding law had been promulgated in violation of the Article 116 of the Constitution without lawful authority. They had also sought injunction against government functionaries from taking any coercive action against them,
HARIPUR: A group of villagers tortured two boys and forced them to walk in the streets naked in the Khalabat Township here on 7th December. A video of the incident was later released on social media platforms. The police said that the boys were stripped naked by a minor resident’s relatives and friends to revenge his “molestation” on Dec 1. SHO of the Khalabat Township police station Raja Mumtaz confirmed the incident. He quoted
SHANGLA: Alpuri tehsil administration said on 7th December that over 100 local widows, orphan girls, and other women would be trained in handicraft skills in the first phase of a district government programme, introduced in response to the high number of widows facing financial difficulties. Assistant Commissioner (AC) Mohammad Hamid Saddiqui told journalists that the district government, along with the social welfare department, intended to teach handicraft skills to local women, especially widows and
Pakistan’s low conviction rates for sexual assault highlight the urgent need for legal reform and victim protection. Sexual assault remains a massive problem in Pakistan, where a worryingly high offence rate pairs with an abysmal conviction rate, creating a recipe for disaster. Reliable data on sexual assault and related crimes has always been difficult to collect due to low reporting rates and cultural ‘norms’ that force victims to stay silent. Still, the data collected
ISLAMABAD: Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan, the convener of the Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights (PCCR), has strongly condemned the alleged involvement of children in garbage collection in Karachi. Earlier this week, the Shah Faisal assistant commissioner raided an office of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board — the body tasked with garbage collection in Karachi — and recovered six children employed by a contractor to collect trash, according to media reports. The raid was
ISLAMABAD: Senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has emphasised the need for collective efforts to create a compassionate and just system for children. He was speaking at the launch event of “Re-imagine Justice for Children in Pakistan — The Voice of Children,” a joint initiative by the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) and Unicef, on December 7. In his insightful discourse on “Domestication of Global Framework on Justice for
MITHI: Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah on 6th December announced his government’s plans to establish science museums throughout the province. “This year has been declared the ‘Year of Science in Sindh’, and science exhibitions will be planned in all schools across the province. Scientific thinking is essential for countering extremism and fostering innovation,” said the minister while speaking to media persons in Mithi. He highlighted the importance of promoting science and
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi visited Edwards College on 6th December, where he distributed scholarships among students from the merged districts. The initiative is aimed at helping students from backward areas pursue higher education, ensuring they have access to resources for academic success. During his visit, he emphasised his dedication to addressing the challenges faced by students and ensuring that the government would provide them with the necessary support to thrive