The concerns regarding forced conversion are not a new phenomenon in our part of the world. Almost a century ago the All India Muslim League chalked out the rules for conversion in this region. The All India Muslim League adopted a resolution in December, 1927 at Calcutta which addressed the issue of forced conversion. Historian Ghulam Ali Allana’s book Pakistan Movement: Historic Documents describes the League’s demand as follows: “Every individual or group is
Child Rights in Focus
KARACHI: A Judicial Magistrate (South) rejected the bail plea of Deepak Kumar, a school employee arrested in a case involving the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl in PNT Colony. In the verdict, the court observed that the victim’s statement, along with the medical examination report, provided solid evidence against the accused. The court noted that due to the seriousness of the allegations, bail could not be granted at this stage. The prosecutor argued
KHANEWAL: A man accused of sexually abusing multiple children was injured when a pistol tucked into his waistband accidentally discharged as police moved to arrest him. The suspect, identified as Saleem Iqbal, a resident of Jahanian, is now under police guard at the local Civil Hospital. Police said three separate cases were already registered against Saleem Iqbal at the Jahanian Police Station. The first incident reportedly occurred on August 20, when the suspect allegedly
PESHAWAR: Teachers and students of government colleges staged protest demonstrations in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 5 against the decision to outsource the under-enrolled colleges and the proposal to link the promotion of teachers to MPhil degree and research work in their respective subjects. The students converged on roads while the teachers boycotted classes. They demanded that the government withdraw the decision to outsource the colleges having lower enrolment, mostly located in
Owing to the growing incidence of mental health issues with around 25 million Pakistanis suffering from depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders, along with availability of a few psychiatrists, Alkhidmat Pakistan has launched an initiative called ‘Brain on Wheels’ to expand access to mental health care in far-flung areas of the country, officials said on October 5. They said Pakistan had fewer than 500 trained psychiatrists, which meant that less than one psychiatrist was
Residents of Badal Goth in the Sharafi Goth area of Landhi caught a man accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl and handed him over to the police on October 5. Local residents reportedly caught the suspect, identified as 67-year-old Mashooq Ali, while allegedly assaulted the minor girl in a deserted area near Badal Goth Ali Garden. The Sharafi Goth police station said the girl’s father, accompanied by his son-in-law, rushed to the scene
PESHAWAR: A local court has convicted a person and sentenced him to death on seven counts in honour-related murder of seven persons including his former wife, three children and three other relatives, here over four years ago. The additional sessions judge, Mohammad Jamil Khan, pronounced that the prosecution proved its case against the accused, Ibrahim, a resident of Charsadda district, and the evidence on record connected him with the commission of the offence. The
BAHAWALPUR: Mailsi Saddar police in Vehari district claimed on October 4 to have arrested a six-month pregnant woman for the brutal murder of her infant nephew in Sorosani locality. Reports said Najma suspected that the mother of her two-and-a-half-year-old nephew Hadi was jealous of her pregnancy and would use ‘spiritual means’ to cause her unborn baby to die, as her previous two children had not survived. Fearing her third child might also not live,
NAROWAL: Police have arrested three suspects for the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl, an assault that reportedly took place five years ago and whose video was recently made viral on social media. The victim’s grandfather, ‘G’, a resident of Dogri Harian, Pasrur Tehsil, filed a first information report against five suspects after the video circulated. District Police Officer (DPO) Sialkot, Faisal Shahzad, formed a special team to arrest the culprits. According to district
GUJRAT: The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested two human traffickers involved in child trafficking to Italy via Libyan Coast. In the child trafficking case, the arrests were made from Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts whereas the two others were arrested from Wazirabad and Hafizabad districts during a crackdown against illegal human trafficking networks in the region. A senior FIA official said the child traffickers – Muhammad Nawaz of Mandi Bahauddin and Mubashir Hussain of
ISLAMABAD: The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances disposed of 113 cases in September 2025, raising the total number of decided cases to 8,986 out of 10,636 received since its inception in March 2011. According to the commission’s monthly report, 1,650 cases were still under investigation. The overall disposal rate now stands at 84.48 percent. The commission’s regional office in Quetta, which handles cases related to Balochistan, reported that 14 missing persons returned home
THE Sindh government’s recent plan to outsource school education through public-private partnerships (PPPs) has sparked a new debate. While the move is being portrayed as a step towards improving quality, it raises more concerns than confidence. Punjab has already adopted a similar model, and Sindh has tried partial outsourcing through the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF). However, past experiences suggest that such partnerships often fail to bring about a real change in learning outcomes, while