SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A nine-year-old boy was killed inside a mosque in the Zeri Noor area of Wana tehsil in Lower South Waziristan district, police said on 4 July. They said the deceased, identified as Waqas, belonged to the Wazir Mughalkhel tribe. Police officials said the child was allegedly murdered inside the mosque. Wana city police station SHO Usman Khan Wazir said that preliminary investigations suggested that the prime suspect, Ahmad, who also belonged to
Child Rights in Focus
Karachi is once again mobilising its army of 26,000 polio workers and thousands of police escorts – this time with an aim to vaccinate over 2.5 million children within six days. The resolve to launch this Herculean feat is impressive, and also quite familiar. For over three decades, in some form, Pakistan has run this machine yet still hasn’t crossed the finish line that Nigeria and India reached years ago. The reasons are not
MINGORA: The bodies of two young children, who had been reported missing a day earlier, were found inside a large storage chest on the second floor of their house in the Shamozo area of Barikot tehsil in Swat, police said. The victims were identified as five-year-old Malik Ahmad Khan and six-year-old Qais Abdul Rashid, who had gone missing on July 2. Following their disappearance, rescuers initially suspected that the children might have fallen into
Unidentified saboteurs carried out two major acts of terrorism in different areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on the night of July 1, targeting a Government Girls Middle School and a vital link bridge. However, timely action by security forces and the Bomb Disposal Unit prevented large-scale destruction and potential loss of life. The first incident occurred in Mama Khel village of the Khairki area in Tehsil Hassan Khel. Unidentified individuals planted explosive material inside
RAWALPINDI: Two girls, aged 13 and 15, and a 12-year-old boy were allegedly sexually assaulted in three separate incidents in Rawalpindi. A 13-year-old hearing and speech-impaired girl was allegedly assaulted by a neighbour in the Naseerabad police limits, a 15-year-old domestic worker was allegedly assaulted by a co-worker in the Rawat police jurisdiction, while a 12-year-old boy was allegedly abducted at knifepoint by an unidentified motorcyclist and sexually assaulted in the Pirwadhai police area.
HIV infections among children in Sindh’s Hyderabad division have continued to rise at an alarming pace, with 186 paediatric cases detected between June 1, 2025 and June 20, 2026, bringing the total number of HIV-positive children registered in the division to 293 and raising fresh concerns about blood safety, infection control practices and delayed detection of the virus. The latest figures indicate that more than 63 percent of all paediatric HIV cases registered in
LULLED into a sense of false security by its own denial and apathy, Pakistan is a long way from achieving tangible solutions to the curse of child abuse. The state’s refusal to address the presence of this scourge, and the lifelong traumas associated with it, is a ticking time bomb for young generations. The 2025 Cruel Numbers report from Sahil scanned the grim circumstances our young are forced to navigate. Its numbers spelled out
LAHORE: A child died and at least five other persons were injured after the roof of an under-construction private school building collapsed in Lahore’s Baghbanpura neighbourhood on July 2. A statement issued by the Baghbanpura police says an eight-year-old boy died, while four men and another child were injured in the incident. Speaking to the media, Baghbanpura Station House Officer (SHO) Rizwan Khan said the school administration was constructing a two-marla structure to expand
PESHAWAR/ LAHORE: Heavy rain, strong winds and flash floods killed at least nine people and injured 28 others across Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) over the past 48 hours, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Rescue 1122 confirmed on Thursday. According to the PDMA (K-P), seven people were killed and 19 injured after roofs and walls of houses collapsed during heavy rain, windstorms and flash floods over the past 48 hours, “The dead included
The deadly building collapse of a private tuition centre in Lahore is another reminder of the pathetic enforcement of building controls and the unscrupulous behaviour of the construction industry, which prioritises profits over safety. Reports said 14 children between the ages of five and 16 were killed after the roof collapsed under the weight of construction workers who were working on it. The roof was made from concrete and steel T-beams, which are named
LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Punjab has established a dedicated cell to ensure prompt registration, investigation and prosecution of cases involving women and children. According to NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Wasim, the initiative had been taken to provide women and children with expedited legal assistance, protection and institutional support while ensuring that complaints were investigated without delay. “Cases involving online harassment, cyberstalking, blackmail, digital exploitation, identity theft, misuse or circulation
RAWALPINDI: At least three minors were sexually assaulted in three seperate incidents across Rawalpindi, police have said. According to the police, a 13-year-old deaf and mute girl was allegedly raped in the Naseerabad area, while a teenage housemaid was subjected to rape in Bahria Town. The alleged rape of the deaf and mute girl was discovered during a medical examination after her health deteriorated, according to a police report. A police spokesperson stated that