KHYBER: The Pakhtun Students Federation has complained about the `discontinuation` of the provision of free textbooks to students in government schools here and demanded of authorities to reverse the move without delay. In a statement issued in Bara tehsil on 23rd March 2024, PSF Khyber president Abdul Wahab Afridi said that the education sector in the tribal district was hit hard by militancy for over a decade. He said that militant attacks destroyed over
Child Rights in Focus
KASUR: Two minors have died, while six other children belonging to gypsy families have been hospitalised so far due to suspected measles outbreak in Khalil Shah locality of Phoolnagar in Pattoki tehsil. Health department teams from Lahore and Kasur reached the affected village on 23 March 2024 and started initial treatment of the children, while launching a medical probe into the matter. As per health officials, a minor girl, Nazia (5) and a boy
The report titled “Situation Analysis of Child Online Protection in Pakistan” provides an overview of the current state of child online protection in Pakistan. It highlights the importance of addressing the risks and dangers faced by children in the digital world, such as cyberbullying, online grooming, and sharing of sexual abuse materials. The report emphasizes the need for comprehensive measures and a global response to protect children from online threats. The Government of Pakistan
“Situation Analysis of Child Labour in Punjab” is a report by SFJPK which provides a concise overview of the situation analysis of child labour in Punjab. Punjab, the most populous province in Pakistan, faces significant challenges in addressing child labour. The Punjab Child Labour Survey (PCLS) 2019-2020 revealed that child labour prevalence has increased compared to previous surveys. Key challenges include intergenerational poverty, lack of viable alternatives, limited access to quality education, lack of
Not just the first such incident, and will not be the last unless stringent labour protection measures are put to practice. Another coalmine incident, in Harnai district of Balochistan, claimed the lives of a dozen workers on 20 March 2024. Hundreds of miners die from mining accidents in Pakistan every year, mainly due to a deposit of coal dust and methane and hydrogen sulphide gases. Most of the deaths occur in developing countries like
In yet another episode of sexual violence in the jurisdiction of the F/9 Park, one of the biggest parks in Asia, a 12-year-old schoolgirl was raped by a youth. The man trapped the girl from her home in F-11/1 through his younger sister and took her to the F-9 Park where he raped her forcibly. The Margalla police, however, have arrested the alleged rapist on the complaint of the victim’s mother, police said. The
The number of child beggars and alms seekers has increased manifold in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad during the holy month of Ramazan according to a news report. The people of the two cities demanded strict actions against those who were involved in child begging and alms seeking. A citizen namely Muhammad Ashfaq said that alms seekers sometimes became a constant nuisance specially in Iftar time at traffic signals and alleged that
ISLAMABAD: Perturbed by the alarming number of 26.2 million out-of-school children (OOSC) across the country, the newly appointed education minister, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, on 20 March 2024 called for imposing an `education emergency` to address the issue. He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on the affairs of the education ministry at the ministry headquarters. Dr Siddiqui, who is also the science and technology minister announced his `intention to advise Prime Minister
A man accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl in F-9 Park has been arrested. The Islamabad Capital Police have successfully apprehended an accused named Sajid Ali who was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. The case was registered under section 376-PPC against the nabbed accused in Margalla police station. The Islamabad Capital City Police Officer (ICCPO), Dr Akbar Nasir Khan took immediate notice of the incident and issued directions to ensure the
A judicial magistrate on 20 March 2024 handed over the custody of five teenage girls, who had disappeared from Saeedabad last month and recovered on Tuesday, to their parents. The investigating officer, Irshad Ahmed, brought the five teenage girls three daughters of Zameer Abbas and two daughters of Zulfiqar Ali along with two suspects factory worker Mumtaz and rickshaw driver Rashid before Judicial Magistrate (West) Zarmina Laghari. The IO informed the court that the
A special court for gender-based violence has awarded life imprisonment, along with 14-year jail term, in a case of sexually assaulting a minor girl. Sanda police had registered the FIR in 2021 against accused Imran on the complaint of the minor’s father. The accused, a brother-in-law of the complainant’s elder daughter, took the five-year-old girl to a shrine where he sexually assaulted her. Additional District and Sessions Judge Kaneez Fatima Bhatti, the presiding judge
A couple involved in torture on an eight-year-old maid was arrested by Gujjarpura police according to news report. Mother of the victim Areeba told police that her daughter was employed at the house of Rais Ahmad in China Scheme. When she went to see her, she saw the suspect Rais was torturing her daughter with belts. She said that Rais’ wife Hina and daughters would also subject the victim to severe torture. Police has