KARACHI: A matriculation student has identified the main accused in a case involving the alleged sexual abuse of more than 100 children during an identification parade held before a judicial magistrate in Karachi, police said. The identification parade was conducted on Saturday in the court of the Judicial Magistrate South, where the accused, identified as Imran, was produced by police. The student identified him despite the suspect standing among 10 dummies. Following the identification,
Child Rights in Focus
ISLAMABAD: The Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) has issued notices to over 1,000 private schools for not submitting compliance reports. Sources said these schools had been granted registration with the direction to ensure availability of missing facilities, including infrastructure shortfall, lack of classrooms, deficiencies in libraries, laboratories and teachers. The schools were required to submit compliance reports after bridging the gaps, which were pointed out during approval of the registration process. “We are
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on January 23 said the province had witnessed terrorism and violence over the past 25 years, and now the time had come to lead children towards knowledge and a bright future. He stated this while speaking at an event, where he launched Character Education Curriculum for the holistic character development of children, according to a statement issued from the chief minister’s secretariat. Mr Afridi said while
LAHORE: The body of a newborn baby was found dumped in a trash bin in the Chung area on January 23. A spokesperson for Edhi Foundation said a passerby spotted the infant’s body in a garbage container and informed the police. Upon receiving the alert, police reached the scene, took the body into custody and shifted it to a morgue for post-mortem examination and legal formalities. Police officials said preliminary investigations suggest that an
HYDERABAD: Sanghar police on the night of January 22 arrested a man accused of raping and torturing a 15-year-old girl from Hyderabad. On January 23, police produced the suspect, Wazir son of Waris Rajar, before a civil judge and judicial magistrate, who granted his three-day physical remand to Chautiarion police station, within whose jurisdiction the incident occurred. A medical report issued by Civil Hospital Sanghar confirmed that the victim, Shadbano Mallah — also the complainant
Medical negligence in Pakistan is often discussed in the abstract — as a system failure, a resource constraint or an unfortunate by-product of poverty. But when nearly 4,000 children in Sindh are living with HIV, many of them infected not at birth or through personal behaviour but in healthcare facilities meant to heal them, negligence ceases to be an abstract concept. It becomes a crime in plain sight. The Pakistan Medical Association’s “high-level alert” on
ISLAMABAD: Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka on Jnuary 22 recorded the statements of mother and maternal aunt of renowned TikToker Sana Yousuf in her murder case. The court summoned the officials of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) over threats received by the defense counsel, and adjourned the hearing until January 27. During the hearing, accused Umar Hayat was produced before the court. At the initial stage, no counsel appeared on
LAHORE: The Punjab government has given two weeks to stakeholders to implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in plazas, schools and hospitals in the wake of Gul Plaza inferno in Karachi. “A building grading system has now been introduced across the province, under which safe buildings will be categorised as A-grade, while others will be graded according to their condition. The firefighting sector is being upgraded with modern technology, drones and state-of-the-art equipment,” Punjab Information Minister Azma
The reported gang rape of a minor girl in Jacobabad by policemen in custody is a failure of procedure that demands serious institutional reckoning. Furthermore, the subsequent arrest of six policemen is being presented as proof that the system works. It is not. Accountability that begins and ends with junior officers is not true justice. Female detainees — including minors — were allegedly kept in a private location with male police officers. This alone constitutes illegal
RAWALPINDI: A high-level committee formed on the orders of the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court has finalised recommendations for a province-wide academic calendar comprising 190 working days in schools and colleges across Punjab. The proposals include reducing summer vacations from two-and-a-half months to six weeks or one and a half months. The committee held three meetings over the past four months and presented its joint recommendations in the third meeting. Under the
LAHORE: At least 658 children ran away from their homes and were intercepted at railway stations across Pakistan in 2025, many citing hunger, lack of basic necessities and corporal punishment at home and in schools, according to data released by the Pakistan Railways Police. Official data shared with The Express Tribune shows that during 2025, railway police intercepted 658 runaway children across the country, including 413 boys and 245 girls, who had reached various railway stations
PAKISTAN’s education system has struggled to evolve beyond traditional patterns where reproduction is prioritised over the application of knowledge and skills. Thinkers such as John Dewey and Paulo Freire have long argued that education should connect classrooms with lived realities, and be outcome-oriented. An Outcome-Based Education system (OBE) has gained currency globally over the last three decades, while Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) became popular in Pakistan after they were included in the National Curriculum