LAHORE: As smog blankets Punjab, the provincial government on 6th November announced the closure of public and private educational institutions across 18 districts from Nov 7 to 17. The decision follows an alarming rise in air quality index (AQI) levels, which have crossed into hazardous territory, especially in Lahore, where AQI peaked at a staggering 1,165 on Wednesday morning. Lahore has been particularly hard hit, with AQI readings remaining at hazardous levels throughout the day.
Child Rights in Focus
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has become the 71st country to join Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database, according to an official statement. The move will help local law enforcement agencies in the investigation of online child exploitation, an FIA spokesman said in a press release on Tuesday. The ICSE database is used by Interpol to connect law enforcement agencies of all its member countries. This database has been operational since 2009 and provides immediate access
LAHORE: The Virtual Centre for Child Safety 05-November-2024 reunited a 12-year-old mentally challenged child with his family after 71 days. The Virtual Centre for Child Safety got information about the missing of child and dispatched police to take custody of a 12-year-old child, who was sitting outside a shop. The police took the child into protective custody and transferred him to Edhi Home. The family of the child had been searching for him for
ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus has crippled another child in Balochistan, raising the number of total polio cases to 46 in Pakistan this year so far, Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) officials said 05-Novemeber-2024. This is the second confirmed case of polio in Killa Saifullah, a district where multiple environmental samples have also tested positive for the virus. Balochistan remains the hardest-hit province this year, with 23 cases, followed by Sindh with 12, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with nine, and
ISLAMABAD: The 46th case of poliovirus this year has been reported from Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan, officials confirmed on 5th November. The case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been detected in a male child, an official of the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication in Islamabad told Dawn. This is the second case of poliovirus from Qila Saifullah this year. So far, 23 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, nine
PESHAWAR: Hundreds of primary schoolteachers from across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province staged a protest sit-in near Jinnah Park here on 5th November to press for their post upgradation demand. They warned that if the demand was not met, they would spend the night on the road and march towards the nearby provincial assembly building on November 6 (today) for a sit-in. The sit-in was staged on a service road next to Jinnah Park on
UMERKOT: A 10-year-old girl of New Chhor town, who was abducted two years ago, has finally been reunited with her family. Victim Aasoo Kolhi told Dawn that she was kidnapped from Tando Adam when she had gone to buy milk for her parents who had gone there for casual labour. Her alleged abductor identified as Abdul Rehman Sheikh, a dangerous criminal, “subjected her to abuse, forced her into begging, and used the money she
GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claims to have arrested at least 109 human traffickers during the month of October across the Gujranwala region. The immigration authorities have also offloaded at least 116 passengers including beggars at Sialkot International Airport for being suspected of using illegal travel documents as well as other reasons during that period. A senior official of FIA said around 206 cases of human trafficking had also been lodged and the
MUZAFFARGARH: A class seven student was reportedly kidnapped from outside the Government Girls High School in Canal Colony on 4th November. The City police registered a case against unknown suspects following a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother, Zubaida Bibi. According to the complainant, her 13-year-old daughter went missing after arriving at the school but never returned. When she inquired with the school administration, they claimed to have no knowledge of her whereabouts. She
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on 4th November directed the provincial secretary of the school education department to form a committee to make efforts to control physical bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment of children at the educational institutes. Justice Jawad Hassan passed the order hearing a public interest petition filed by a female lawyer, Sibah Farooq, and her school-going daughter, seeking direction to the authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure a safe educational
LAHORE: Punjab Prosecutor General (PG) Syed Farhad Ali Shah on 4th November took notice of two recent incidents – the rape of a minor girl at a private school and burning of a juvenile labourer at a workshop – in the provincial metropolis. On being summoned, the investigating officers (IOs) in both cases appeared before the prosecutor, with their reports on the incidents. In the minor’s rape case, the IO stated that the suspect
The Sindh School Education and Literacy Department with the help of police has unearthed a racket of selling free books issued by the government and has also formed a team to investigate the alleged involvement of education department officials. Officials and sources said on 04-Novemeber-2024 that a major success was made by the education department’s Textbook Monitoring Team, which busted a gang that stole textbooks and sold them in the market. The team had