KARACHI: Renowned scholar Dr Zakir Naik has said that forced conversion of religion is strictly forbidden in Islam. He said this while speaking at a programme held at Sindh Governor House on Thursday evening. Governor Kamran Tessori, consuls general of Islamic countries, ulema of different schools of thought and a large number of people attended the event. Dr Naik said Islam has the concept of inviting people to the faith, but “if non-Muslims decline,
Child Rights in Focus
BAJAUR: In a first step towards ensuring the protection and welfare of children in the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) supported child protection unit (CPU) was inaugurated here on 3rd October. Social Welfare Department’s Additional Secretary Mohammad Farooq was the chief guest on the occasion, while Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan and other senior officials were also in attendance at the CPU office. Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad
PESHAWAR: Health experts have expressed concern over the growing incidence of genetic disorders and asked the people to undergo pre-marriage screening in cousin marriages to put brakes on thalassaemia and other ailments. They were speaking at a seminar organised by Dosti Foundation at Khyber Medical University here on 2nd October, according to a press release. Special secretary health Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah, who was the chief guest, emphasised that cousin marriages remained a strong
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on 02-October-2024 directed the provincial education department to complete the reconstruction of 3,328 flood-affected schools and arrange funds for the remaining 16,480 damaged schools. Officials said that while presiding over a meeting, the CM directed the education department to complete the reconstruction of 3,328 schools of the 19,808 damaged by the 2022 floods during the current financial year. The meeting was held at the CM House
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fight against polio has encountered fresh setbacks with the confirmation of two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in children from the districts of Zhob and Tank. Health officials now report a total of 28 cases in 2024, raising concerns over the country’s expanding public health challenge. The latest victims are a young girl from Zhob, Balochistan, and a boy from Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to the Regional
KARACHI: A sessions court on Tuesday sentenced a man, said to be an alcoholic, to 14 years in prison for raping her teenage daughter. Additional District and Sessions Judge Ghulam Mustafa Laghari, who is also presiding officer of the Gender Based-Trial Court (Central), found Muhammad Mukhtiar, 40, guilty of raping her 15-year-old daughter in their house on May 12, 2023. The prosecution examined eight witnesses, including the victim, and their testimonies were corroborated with
Peshawar. The Peshawar High Court has ordered the release of four Afghan refugee girls on bail. They were arrested for allegedly being in possession of gold at the Torkham checkpoint. Justice Ijaz Anwar heard the appeal filed by the girls. During the hearing, their lawyers, Shahid Raza Khan and Bilal Dawoodzai, informed the court that the petitioners are from Afghanistan. The girls, Ayesha, 8, Asma, 10, Faheema, 12, and Faheem, are currently residing at
ISLAMABAD: Polio eradication authorities in Pakistan reported two more polio cases on 01-October-2024, raising the total number of children paralyzed by the virus this year to 26. The cases, confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, involve children from Karachi East and Sujawal districts in Sindh, where environmental samples have recently detected the presence of poliovirus. This marks the first case of the year for both
Islamabad: The Federal Ombudsperson Secretariat for Protection against Harassment (FOSPAH) has launched a nationwide initiative aimed at informing students of their rights and empowering them to understand harassment and its prevention. The ground-breaking campaign began with an awareness session at the Government Girls High School in Sohan in collaboration with Islamic Relief Pakistan. The session engaged over 70 female students from grades 9 and 10 in a critical dialogue about their rights to respect,
SARGODHA: A police officer along with his friend gang-raped a student of the 10th class who was trying to get her father released from the custody of Kot Momin police. The suspects left the girl in front of her aunt’s house when her condition became critical and fled. As per the first information report (FIR) lodged by the victim with Kot Momin Police, her father was arrested by the Kot Momin Police Station in
In this video, you can listen to the harrowing realities of child abuse and the plight of street children and domestic helpers. Explore the factors that contribute to these issues, the impact on vulnerable lives, and the paths to healing and hope.
KARACHI: The city administration on 30th September decided to launch an effective crackdown on professional beggars at traffic signals, intersections and markets across the city. The decision was taken by Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi while chairing a meeting at his office, according to a press release. The commissioner was informed that the administration of the city’s seven districts was taking coordinated action as more than three dozen professional beggars, including 27 in district Central