THATTA: A severe measles outbreak has triggered widespread panic across the coastal belt of the Shahbunder taluka (sub-district) in Sujawal district, where five children have died within a week and more than 20 others are reportedly suffering from the highly contagious disease across various villages. According to local sources, the outbreak has spread rapidly through several remote coastal settlements. Residents have complained of a critical lack of immediate medical facilities and a delayed response
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad sessions court sentenced Umar Hayat, the main culprit in the Sana Yousaf murder case, to death on May 19 after finding him guilty of killing the teenager at her residence in June last year. Hayat was arrested a day after 17-year-old Yousaf was shot dead in her Islamabad house on June 2, 2025. On Monday, 23-year-old Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker — retracted his earlier
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on May 19 issued notices to the Punjab government and other respondents on a petition challenging the decision to close educational institutions for three months during summer vacations. Justice Khalid Ishaq heard the petition filed by the All Private Schools Federation and sought replies from the respondents. The petition contended that the Punjab government had issued a notification ordering the closure of schools and colleges for three months
PESHAWAR: The government has launched a dedicated fleet of 42 specialised ambulances to provide timely and safe medical services to pregnant women and newborns in tribal districts of Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan. The service was formally inaugurated by Provincial Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Aqibullah Khan at the provincial headquarters of Rescue 1122 here on Monday. The director general of Rescue 1122, Shah Fahad, briefed the minister
ISLAMABAD: Mukhtar Ahmed Rathore, father of five-year-old Umar Rathore, who was murdered in Bhara Kahu after being kidnapped for ransom in 2019, rejected the Supreme Court’s decision to commute the two death sentences awarded to the killers to life imprisonment and termed it a murder of justice. Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club along with his daughter, son, son-in-law and other family members, he appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan,
TOBA TEK SINGH: A four-year-old child kidnapped from Pirmahal tehsil seven days ago, was recovered after an encounter in which one of the three suspected captors was killed and another was injured late on the night of 17th May. Toba DPO Akhlaqullah Tarar informed newsmen while handing over the child to his parents at Pirmahal Chak 755 GB on Monday, that Ibad Waqas was playing in the street when two bikers came from Pirmahal
LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) on May 18 launched the first phase of a four-part capacity-building programme in collaboration with the Unicef aimed at incorporating nutrition and child health interventions into the MBBS curriculum across Punjab. The initiative began with a three-day training workshop on community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). It was attended by medical educationists, paediatricians, public health experts and healthcare trainers from medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the
KARACHI: In a move to protect some of the province’s most overlooked workers, the Sindh Assembly on May 11 passed the Domestic Workers Welfare Bill 2025, bringing formal safeguards to the employment and working conditions of household workers across the province. According to the bill, which requires gubernatorial assent to become law, a domestic worker is defined as a person who does domestic work in a household. The new law lays down clear terms
ISLAMABAD: The prime accused in the murder case of 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf retracted his earlier confessional statement admitting to the murder while testifying before the trial court on Monday, alleging that Islamabad police had falsely implicated him in the case. Last year, Umar Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — had confessed before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that he shot Sana. In his
TOBA TEK SINGH: The incident of a four-year-old girl falling into a manhole and drowning seven days ago in the Tayyaba Town of Tandlianwala has taken a new turn after the Tandlianwala City Police booked six persons for killing her on May 17. Complainant Laraib Qasim claimed in her FIR that her deceased daughter Hania (4) went out on the evening of May 10 to play in the street where Mudassar Malik, his son
KARACHI: Expressing concern over the rising incidence of hypertension in the country, speakers at a seminar shared that the condition has emerged as one of the most pressing public health challenges in Pakistan where an estimated 400,000 people die of complications caused by high blood pressure every year. The event was organised by Dow Institute of Cardiology (DIC) in connection with World Hypertension Day on May 15. Sharing global data, Dow University of Health
SWAT: The police on may 16 registered a case against four persons for allegedly abducting and assaulting a 17-year-old girl for 16 days in the Khwazakhela area of Upper Swat. According to an FIR, the victim told police that her mother was under treatment at Saidu Sharif Hospital. She stated that after spending three days at the hospital with her mother, she was on her way home when four accused, residents of Barkalay, Koz