ISLAMABAD: The consolidated data on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is unavailable, but there is a noticeable increase in the number of children being diagnosed with the disease. This was informed by speakers during an event, organised in connection with World Autism Awareness Day, held at Maroof International Hospital. It is pertinent to mention that ASD is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. ASD begins at the age of three and lasts
Child Rights in Focus
• Health dept confirms four of seven children who died last month in Khairpur hospitals had mpox • Claims deaths not directly linked to zoonotic viral infection • Sukkur commissioner asks DHO to initiate ‘comprehensive contact tracing’ • Babies seemed to have infected from unsterilized hospital equipment: sources • Many ‘chickenpox-like’ cases reported from other districts KARACHI / SUKKUR: An outbreak of mpox, the first local outbreak of the zoonotic viral infection in the
A NATIONAL summit organised by the National Curriculum Council and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training should serve as the required catalyst to redefine Pakistan’s educational priorities amid rapidly evolving geopolitical and technological transformations. The summit’s goals comprised a transition from memorisation to critical thinking, creativity, inquiry and problem-solving, as well as abandoning the outdated Macaulay model. The modernisation of the curriculum includes the introduction of AI, robotics and STEM, placing greater
BAHAWALPUR: Lodhran city police claimed on April 3 to have arrested a man on the charges of sexually harassing and blackmailing a first-year girl student in Faizabad locality of Lodhran city. According to the police, a woman complainant said that her neighbour ‘I’ would train her daughter ‘S’ (17) , a first-year student, in online work. She alleged that the suspect sexually harassed her daughter, took objectionable photographs and attempted to blackmail her. She
KARACHI: As the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams are set to begin from April 7, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi has declared the premises of examination centres restricted areas for the general public except candidates bearing valid Admit Card as well as the staff on duty. The Board of Secondary Education Karachi will conduct SSC annual examination from April 7 to May 2, with approximately 385,000 candidates at 530 examination centres across Karachi Division. According
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/QUETTA/PESHAWAR: Torrential rain and severe weather swept across Pakistan on April 2, leaving devastation in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), killing more than a dozen people and disrupting daily life. In Karachi, at least six people lost their lives, mostly due to electrocution, as heavy rain and strong winds inundated roads, low-lying neighbourhoods, and triggered widespread power outages. Among the deceased was 12-year-old Dua Batool, who was electrocuted inside her home in Surjani Town.
LAHORE: A ninth class schoolgirl got multiple burns when a young man threw acid on her in Chuhng area on April 2. The girl was rushed to a local hospital where the doctors said that she had severe and deep burns on her face, head and shoulders. Her hands also got minor burns when she tried to hide her face. According to initial police reports, she was going back to her home from her
LAHORE: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) of Lahore continues to ignore the dangers posed by open manholes and yet to learn from various accidents, including the recent incident at the Bhaati Chowk remodeling project, as many manhole covers remain missing in various parts of the city. “For the last many days, we have been finding uncovered manholes ignored by the Wasa field teams. A couple of days ago, we also requested someone to
LAHORE: A total of people across Punjab were bitten by stray dogs from January 2024 till March 2026, revealed a report of the provincial health & population department submitted to the Lahore High Court. As per the statistics presented in the report, 232,704 people were bitten by dogs in 2024, while 243,299 cases were reported in 2025. In the first three months of 2026 alone, as many as 38,586 incidents of dog bite were
KARACHI: Six people, including a child, were killed and several others were injured in rain-related incidents as heavy downpours lashed Karachi on April 2, police and rescue officials confirmed to The Express Tribune. The casualties occurred in incidents of electrocution and wall collapse, reported from various localities during intermittent heavy showers that affected the city throughout the morning and afternoon. In PIB Colony, near the post office and Quetta Hotel, a 30-year-old man, Abdul
THE war in the Middle East has had several unanticipated consequences, among them one which requires a little more concern from the authorities than has been shown. Anticipating fuel shortages from the jolts to the global energy supply chain, Pakistan had moved to suspend regular schooling, announced extended holidays and enforced online classes till the end of March. As education is a provincial subject, each of the provinces went about implementing these measures in
ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Barrister Danyal Chaudhry has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to inclusive, child-centred education at a roundtable hosted by Cities for Children and supported by the Malala Fund. The event, titled “Inspired Education: Investing in Creative Strategies to Reduce Dropout,” brought together policymakers, practitioners, and development partners to explore practical solutions for ensuring children not only access education but stay and thrive within it,” read a press release issued