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
Child Rights in Focus
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
The expanding corruption probe into Sindh’s education boards has laid bare a rot that goes far deeper than initially feared. What began as an investigation into irregularities at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Mirpurkhas, has now spiralled into a province-wide scandal, implicating senior officials and the administrative hierarchy overseeing them. The context is as troubling as the latest revelations. The arrest of a key official from the Mirpurkhas Board triggered allegations that
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on May 5 converted to life imprisonment the sentences of death awarded on multiple counts to a “serial” rapist and killer by a trial court last year. A bench consisting of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Farah Jamshed pronounced a short order partially allowing three appeals filed by the convict, Sohail Alias Malang, challenging his conviction in the high-profile case by a child protection court on Jun 16, 2025.
LAHORE: A woman and her three minor children were found dead in their house in Multan under mysterious circumstances on May 5, 2026. Initially, Rescue 1122 and police received calls that a woman hanged herself, along with her three minor children, in a house in a katchi abadi (slum) near Mumtazabad Phattak in Multan. However, investigators express doubts about the stated cause of the deaths. A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, told
The State of Children in Pakistan 2025 is the second annual flagship report by the National Commission on the Rights of Child under the NCRC Act, 2017. It provides an updated assessment of children’s rights in Pakistan, covering progress, gaps and emerging risks across federal, provincial and ICT jurisdictions. Guided by Pakistan’s constitutional framework and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the report focuses on four key areas: survival, development,
The NCRC Child Advisory Panel (CAP) comprises 37 children from across Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory and Gilgit-Baltistan. CAP members come from diverse backgrounds, including children from religious minorities, the transgender community and children with disabilities. They worked collaboratively to make the Committee on the Rights of Child Concluding Observations more understandable for children in Pakistan. Divided into 15 small groups of 2–3 members each, the children shared responsibility