PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet has approved KP Vagrancy Control and Rehabilitation Bill, 2025, for placement before the provincial assembly. The proposed legislation introduces a modernised and rights based framework for addressing vagrancy in the province, replacing the existing legal framework introduced in 2020, read an official statement issued here on Feb 26. The bill, approved during the cabinet meeting held with Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi in the chair, adopts a rehabilitation centred
Child Rights in Focus
QUETTA: Schools, colleges, and universities in Balochistan’s cold districts reopened on March 2 after a two-and-a-half-month winter break, marking the start of the new academic year. However, the first day saw extremely low student attendance, as severe cold, parents’ financial hardships, and preparations for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr combined to keep many classrooms nearly empty. According to the Balochistan Education Department, institutions in Quetta, Killa Abdullah, Mastung, Ziarat, Qalat, Pishin, Loralai, Khuzdar, and other
Domestic workers in Sindh are some of the most sought-after yet oppressed people in the region. Constantly flouted labour laws have resulted in a cemented culture of child labour practice, inhumane working hours, meagre pay that more often than not misses the minimum wage mark, as well as disputes that are resolved on the basis of power dynamics. The Sindh Domestic Workers Bill of 2018 was the government’s initial attempt at providing domestic workers
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the National Database and Registration Authority(Nadra), social welfare department and union councils concerned to devise a uniform and child-sensitive mechanism for registration of abandoned and orphaned children residing in orphanage homes across the province. The SHC also ordered the authorities to facilitate the issuance of birth certificates and CNICs/child registration certificates to such children within a reasonable time in order to ensure that they were not deprived
PESHAWAR: The language that the physically-challenged children speak in a sprawling building of ‘Angels Home’ here makes little sense to the hale and hearty visiting this place. No cheers here, no cries of children in a park, reverberating through the air as they clamour for a ride on the slide, the seesaw or a swing. The Angels Home, which houses 125 mostly bedridden children, is on the verge of closure due to funds’ shortage.
LAHORE: Climate change continued to disrupt educational activities across Punjab in 2025, with rising smog levels, harsher winters and extreme summer heat forcing repeated school closures and reducing effective teaching days. According to education officials, schools remained closed for an additional 20 to 25 days due to weather-related factors during the year. Smog remained the most significant factor. In November 2025, dense smog engulfed several cities of the province, prompting authorities to suspend classes
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the recording of a witness statement in the absence of the accused and his counsel in the murder case of TikToker Sana Yousaf. In a detailed nine-page judgment, Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro rejected the plea filed by accused Umar Hayat against the trial court proceedings, observing that no legal flaw, irregularity or jurisdictional defect had been found in the impugned order. The court noted that the
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police have taken into custody a proclaimed offender accused of abducting a 13-year-old girl and forcibly marrying her two years ago, following his detention by Bahawalnagar Police. An official said on Sunday that the accused, identified as Ahsan Ali, was wanted in case No 670/24 registered at Noon Police Station, Islamabad. The official said the accused allegedly lured the minor girl from the jurisdiction of Noon Police Station and
LAHORE: The Punjab School Education Department has placed all schools in the province on high security alert, issuing directives aimed at preventing any untoward incident. The district education authorities have been instructed through a notification to ensure strict implementation of security measures in both government and private schools. The directives include enhanced monitoring of visitors, alertness of security staff during school hours and construction of eight-foot high boundary walls topped with barbed wire. The
Every few years in Pakistan, madrassahs return to the headlines as if they are a new discovery. A tragedy occurs. A security report is published. A political speech is delivered. And once again, the debate collapses into accusation and denial. There are few words in Pakistan’s public life that ignite more heat than ‘madrassah’. The moment it is spoken, the debate fractures into two predictable camps. One sees sacred tradition under siege. The other
Girls’ education statistics have shown remarkable improvements over the past few years, but, unfortunately, given the extremely weak starting point, they are still well off the mark for a nation that hopes to create a socioeconomic miracle. The Federal Ministry of Education and Technical Training’s Girls’ Education Statistics and Trends Report 2023-24 shows that, despite historic progress on many fronts, there is still a lot to worry about, most notably the stubborn stagnation of
KARACHI / LARKANA: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its grave concern over the recent incident of forced eviction of long-settled families in Umerkot district. In a statement issued on Friday, it said that the reported conduct of the police, including violence against women, children and the elderly, reflected “entrenched structural deficiencies, a politicised command, weak civilian oversight and impunity for excesses”. It said that suspension (of some police officers and