PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has ruled that in trials of sexual offences involving minors, anti-rape law mandates child-friendly practices, in-camera proceedings, protection of privacy and dignity of victims. A bench consisting of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal observed: “Furthermore, the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021, reflects legislative recognition that sexual offence trials involving minors require child-sensitive procedures, in-camera proceedings, protection of dignity and an environment conducive to truthful testimony.” The
Child Rights in Focus
RAWALPINDI: Board examinations for Class 8 in government schools across Punjab, organised by the Punjab Education, Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA), will begin in the second week of March. For the first time, scripts will be marked through a computerised system, and results will be announced on March 31. The examinations will run for only two to three days and will cover four subjects: Urdu, English, Mathematics and Social Studies. The Punjab government
The teacher was halfway through explaining a lesson when she suddenly stopped. A piece of chalk slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor as her eyes fixed on a child sitting in the corner of the classroom. The boy had begun rocking his chair back and forth, his hands pressed tightly over his ears, whispering to himself as the rising noise of the classroom and his chair rocking began to overwhelm him.
PESHAWAR/ LAHORE/ KARACHI: Every now and then, some isolated case of honour killings makes its way to the media. However, beyond individual tragedies lies a bleak national picture, where family forgiveness, judicial delays, and weaknesses in law enforcement allow innocents to continue being killed in the name of honour. Honour killings continue to emerge as a serious human rights issue across the country, where the number of incidents remains high while the rate of
• Insists govt can’t create jobs for millions of people; private sector must lead employment drive • Claims FIR registered against sitting senator over alleged tax evasion • Says tobacco sector ‘not paying taxes’, involved in smuggling • Construction relief package ‘in pipeline’, announcement expected soon • Textile support under review; minister seeks 10-12 days for concrete steps LAHORE: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Feb 14 warned that Pakistan could not be run with
LAHORE: A four-year-old boy, Ali Abbas, died after allegedly being assaulted by a neighbour in the Defence B area following a dispute between children. Police said the suspect, identified as Allah Rakha, allegedly entered the child’s home after the quarrel and repeatedly struck him with kicks and punches, resulting in his death at the scene. Police and forensic teams reached the location, collected evidence, and took the body into custody for a post-mortem examination.
LAHORE: The Dolphin Force claimed to have rescued a woman and her children after she climbed on top of a minaret of a mosque in Raiwind area to commit suicide. As per reports, Allah Bakshi took the extreme step due to financial strains she had been facing for the last many months. On Friday, she climbed the minaret of a mosque along with her children — Amina (13), Azan (11), Aleezy (8), Aleena (7)
KARACHI: A teenage girl took her own life in her Orangi Town home on Feb 13, police said. Pakistan Bazaar SHO Imam Bux Lashari said that 16-year-old Neha had lost her interest in studying. Her mother and brothers scolded her for not going to school. In the early morning, she was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room. She was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where doctors declared her dead. Published
LAST week Abu Dhabi hosted the ‘Machines Can Think 2026’ conference. Given the region’s enthusiastic embrace of AI, the availability of resources for ambitious approaches, and the openness to pursue them, I was most interested in one particular panel discussion session, titled ‘AI Classroom — Rethinking Education for the Knowledge Economy.’ The panel was attended by the provost of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, Timothy Baldwin, the president
BAHAWALNAGAR: The Saddar police arrested a man on Feb 13, allegedly for drugging and raping his minor daughter at Haroonabad. The FIR registered by the police on the complaint of the survivor’s mother, Tayyaba Kulsum, a resident of Chishtian, on Feb 12, says she married the suspect, ‘Z’, of Haroonabad about 17 years back and they had four children. The complainant says that her husband had a criminal mindset and he spent most of
ISLAMABAD: Four Pakistani hospitals are finalising preparations to receive free childhood cancer medicines before the end of 2026 under an agreement between Pakistan and the World Health Organization (WHO), said a press release issued here on Thursday. The initiative, implemented through the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, aims to improve access to quality treatment for children affected by cancer in Pakistan, where more than 8,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
DI KHAN In a landmark ruling, Additional Sessions Judge (Child Protection Court/GBV) Rafiullah has convicted and sentenced Muhammad Ubaidur Rahman son of Faizur Rahman to rigorous punishment for the brutal rape of an 8-year-old girl in October 2023. The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Daraban police station. The accused allegedly abducted the minor girl while she was on her way to the market, took her to his sitting room, and subjected her to