BAHAWALPUR: Fateh Shah police in Vehari district arrested a man on charge of raping his three minor daughters at Chak 41/KB, Burewala, on May 8. District Police PRO Adnan Tariq told Dawn by cell phone that the suspect was arrested after registration of an FIR on the complaint of his wife on May 5. She alleged that her husband had been raping their three daughters who were 14, 11 and 9 years old for
Child Rights in Focus
PESHAWAR/BAJAUR: Eleven civilians, including five children, were martyred and 16 people injured in terrorism-related incidents in Hangu, South Waziristan and Bajaur districts. Officials told Dawn that six civilians were martyred and 14, including two policemen, suffered injuries when terrorists fired mortar shells during a security operation in Hangu. They said that two police personnel were also injured during the crossfire. Officials said that the law-enforcement agencies launched an operation after terrorists took over a
ISLAMABAD: While there are less than 500 clinical psychologists and approximately 270 to 400 psychiatrists for a population exceeding 240 million, violence by parents against children in Pakistan is becoming a widespread issue with reports indicating it is often treated as a private family matter rather than a social crisis. Though the government has passed progressive laws in recent and preceding years, there is an increasing need to address the deeply intertwined societal and mental health needs in the
DERA GHAZI KHAN: At least four minor students died and 16 others, besides two school teachers and as many employees, were left injured, when the roof of a classroom caved in at a private school in the city, allegedly because of illegal construction work at an adjacent building. As per Rescue 1122 and police, the roof of a classroom suddenly collapsed at the Little Scholar School in Block V of the city during the
KARACHI: Caregivers of children up to five years of age in Sindh will receive Rs3,000 every quarter for growth monitoring, nutrition counselling and school readiness, as the provincial government rolls out a Rs14 billion Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme. The decision was taken on May 6 at the third board meeting of the Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA), chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. The board approved a package of initiatives to
The expanding corruption probe into Sindh’s education boards has laid bare a rot that goes far deeper than initially feared. What began as an investigation into irregularities at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Mirpurkhas, has now spiralled into a province-wide scandal, implicating senior officials and the administrative hierarchy overseeing them. The context is as troubling as the latest revelations. The arrest of a key official from the Mirpurkhas Board triggered allegations that
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on May 5 converted to life imprisonment the sentences of death awarded on multiple counts to a “serial” rapist and killer by a trial court last year. A bench consisting of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Farah Jamshed pronounced a short order partially allowing three appeals filed by the convict, Sohail Alias Malang, challenging his conviction in the high-profile case by a child protection court on Jun 16, 2025.
LAHORE: A woman and her three minor children were found dead in their house in Multan under mysterious circumstances on May 5, 2026. Initially, Rescue 1122 and police received calls that a woman hanged herself, along with her three minor children, in a house in a katchi abadi (slum) near Mumtazabad Phattak in Multan. However, investigators express doubts about the stated cause of the deaths. A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, told
The State of Children in Pakistan 2025 is the second annual flagship report by the National Commission on the Rights of Child under the NCRC Act, 2017. It provides an updated assessment of children’s rights in Pakistan, covering progress, gaps and emerging risks across federal, provincial and ICT jurisdictions. Guided by Pakistan’s constitutional framework and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the report focuses on four key areas: survival, development,
The NCRC Child Advisory Panel (CAP) comprises 37 children from across Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory and Gilgit-Baltistan. CAP members come from diverse backgrounds, including children from religious minorities, the transgender community and children with disabilities. They worked collaboratively to make the Committee on the Rights of Child Concluding Observations more understandable for children in Pakistan. Divided into 15 small groups of 2–3 members each, the children shared responsibility
BAHAWALPUR: A woman, along with her three children, including two daughters and four unidentified accomplices, allegedly killed her husband and concealed his body in a trunk at their house in Basti Kukranwali, within the jurisdiction of Baghdadul Jadid police station in Bahawalpur. According to police PRO Naeem Ahmed, a team, accompanied by the deceased Abdul Majid’s brother, recovered the decomposed body from a locked house on Monday. The body was found inside a trunk,
LAHORE: The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Unicef Pakistan on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to transform the provincial metropolis into a “child-friendly city” under the global Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI), marking a significant step towards promoting children’s rights and inclusive urban development. The MoU-signing ceremony was attended by foreign dignitaries, provincial ministers and representatives from various civil society organisations, reflecting broad-based support for the initiative. The event also featured performances