LAHORE: A two-and-a-half-year-old child died after falling into an open manhole in Raiwind. According to officials, the toddler reportedly fell into the sewer manhole and died. The Lahore deputy inspector general (operations) sought a report from the Saddar superintendent of police regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident. He ordered legal action against those found responsible for negligence that led to the child’s death. The police registered a case and initiated legal proceedings in connection
Child Rights in Focus
Pakistan has once again found itself in the middle of a rapidly expanding public health challenge: childhood obesity. The latest findings from the World Obesity Atlas 2026 should ideally serve as a wakeup call for our health authorities. Since 2010, the prevalence of obesity among Pakistani children and adolescents has been rising by an estimated 10.6 per cent annually, one of the fastest growth rates in the world. At present, roughly 18 million children
Pakistan possesses a demographic profile that could either become its greatest asset or its most destabilising liability. Unfortunately, we are headed in the wrong direction. To understand the scale of the challenge, it is important to recognise the extent of Pakistan’s educational underinvestment. Unesco has advised a minimum of 4-6 per cent expenditure for education, which our leaders have constantly ignored. Pakistan has been consistently spending only 1.7-1.9 per cent of its budget on
BAHAWALPUR: The Musafir Khana police have recovered the body of a 12-year-old boy from a graveyard in Goth Mehro, around 30 kilometers from the city. The authorities suspect the victim was murdered following a sexual assault. The victim, identified as Muhammad Javed, son of Abdul Hamid, went missing on the night of March 7 after leaving home to buy candies. Following an unsuccessful search, his father registered an abduction case (FIR No. 151/26) under
EVERY day, in homes across Pakistan, millions of children are quietly being left behind. Not by flood or famine, earthquake or epidemic, but by the slow, invisible erosion of chronic undernutrition. The crisis unfolding concerns the 40 percent of Pakistani children under five who are stunted, the nearly 10m children affected by chronic growth failure and the millions more whose brain development is compromised during the most critical window of human life. This will
DIJKOT: A four-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and strangled by a teenage cousin, police said on Mar 10. According to the police, Muhammad Imtiaz, a resident of Sulaimania Colony, reported that his granddaughter, Anaya Jannat, had gone outside to play but gone missing. The police registered a case and initiated a search, reviewing CCTV footage from the area. In the footage, a 14-year-old resident of the same locality, was seen taking away the child
RAWALPINDI: The Secretary for Schools Punjab has released funds totalling Rs3.271 billion for government schools across the province to meet routine expenditures, including utility bills, furniture repairs, and the salaries of security guards and sweepers. According to official sources, the allocated funds will be transferred to the respective District Education Authorities’ government accounts through District Accounts Offices (DAOs) within two days. Thereafter, the amounts will be disbursed from the accounts of District Education Officers
ABBOTTABAD: The district administration on Mar 10 sealed three private schools in Abbottabad for allegedly forcing parents to purchase monogrammed stationery at inflated prices, in violation of regulations set by the Private School Regulatory Authority (PSRA). The action was taken by Assistant Commissioner Abbottabad after receiving public complaints from parents. During the inspection drive, officials visited several institutions, including International Public School, Al-Hamad School and Aspire School. Authorities found that the schools were selling
Private Schools’ Associations Oppose Closure of Educational Institutions to Conserve Fuel in Karachi
KARACHI: Following the decision of the Sindh cabinet regarding the closure of schools and colleges for two weeks due to the ongoing fuel crisis, several private schools’ associations have shown their concern and disapproval of the energy conservation measures. The Private Schools’ Management Association (PSMA) has requested the Sindh government to take decisions related to educational institutions after considering the educational problems of the province. PSMA Chairman Danish Uz Zaman said that educational institutions in Sindh
ISLAMABAD: Students of 14 years and above age now will be taught reproductive health education in Islamabad’s educational institutions as after Senate, National Assembly also passed a bill on March 10 in this regard. Prior written consent from parents or legal guardians shall be mandatory before imparting any instructions related to reproductive health education within educational institutions. The bill was presented in National Assembly by MNA Shazia Marri, which was passed by the house.
LAHORE: Around 20,000 teachers working in 4,300 schools operating under the Punjab Education Initiatives Management Authority (PEIMA) did not get salaries for the past three months, leading to severe financial difficulties for them. The situation could prompt many of the teachers to quit their jobs that would affect education of nearly 600,000 students and lead to closure of schools. Teachers and school administrations said payments to PEIMA partner schools for January, February and March
• Says executing sole surviving parent would create ‘judiciary-sponsored orphanhood’ • Convict had killed his wife and daughter in Vehari in 2021 ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the welfare of a child, the Supreme Court on March 10 commuted the death sentence of a convicted father to life imprisonment, observing that executing a sole surviving parent would render the child a “silent victim” of the justice system. “When the judiciary imposes the death penalty upon