MANSEHRA: People hit by the Dasu hydropower project in Suo tehsil of Upper Kohistan on January 10 agreed to end their protest following successful talks with the district administration, which announced the reconstruction of schools and execution of a major water supply scheme in line with the agreements reached upon earlier. “We have ended our sit-in after successful negotiations with the district administration, which has assured us that all our issues will be taken
Child Rights in Focus
PESHAWAR: Participants at a consultative session on education financing have stressed the need for equitable allocation and effective utilization of funds to promote quality education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The session was organized by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) at the Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences), Peshawar. Collaboration was struck with the German development agency GIZ and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department. Representatives from various media organizations attended the event.
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Division administration has made fitness certification mandatory for all Suzuki vans and buses used to transport schoolchildren, warning of strict legal action against violators, including vehicle seizure and imprisonment of owners. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Commissioner Peshawar Division, Riaz Khan Mehsud, to ensure the safe transportation of private school students. The meeting was attended by officials from the district administration, traffic police, Regional Transport Authority,
MANSEHRAProtest in Kohistan against Delay in School Reconstruction7 blocked the main road in Upper Kohistan to protest the delay in the reconstruction of a high school and non-fulfillment of other demands agreed upon with Wapda. “We have forced Wapda to halt execution of the project until our demands are met,” Maulana Waliullah Tohidee, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, told protesters gathered at the site of the demolished building of the government high school in
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW) has notified the ‘Girls Education Oversight and Advisory Committee’ to promote female education in the province. The committee, meant for strengthening policy oversight and coordinated action for advancing girls’ education, has been constituted in line with provincial commitments under ‘quality education’ (SDG-4) and aims at ensuring that girls’ education remains central to governance, budgeting and development planning. The committee will be headed by KPCSW
RAWALPINDI: A sharp increase in influenza and respiratory illness cases has been observed in Rawalpindi as severe cold weather grips the city, overwhelming health centres. Patients are complaining of cough, fever and breathing difficulties. Children and the elderly are reported to be the most affected groups. Health experts attribute the rise to the prevailing dry, cold conditions and lack of rainfall, which favour the spread of seasonal flu, cough, fever, chest irritation and respiratory
• Questions whether critics comprehend the suffering caused by dog attacks • Says a small group should not dictate stray dog policy, which must reflect majority’s will KARACHI: Amid a surge in dog-bite cases across Karachi, Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on January 7 signalled that the situation was approaching a tipping point and openly suggested culling as a possible option if the people demanded immediate relief. Responding to questions during an interaction with the
ISLAMABAD: In a show of unity, the federal government, provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have approved the ‘National Education Action Plan’ to tackle the issue of out-of-school children (OOSC) during the 38th Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC). UN agencies, including Unicef, say that more than 25 million children are out of school in Pakistan, placing the country among those with the highest number globally. The situation is exacerbated by economic
In a bid to curb the growing trend of vape smoking among youth in the federal capital, the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services is set to table ‘Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Regulation) Bill’ in the House following its approval by the panel. The proposed legislation seeks to impose strict controls on the sale, marketing, and use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, commonly known as vapes and e-cigarettes, in Islamabad. Moved by Senator
KARACHI: All private schools and colleges in Sindh will remain closed on January 9 after the Grand Alliance of Private Schools Associations announced a complete strike against the involvement of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in their affairs. In this regard, the association leaders Haider Ali, Shahzad Akhtar, Tariq Shah, Anwar Bhatti, Danish-uz-Zaman, Nasir Zaidi and others addressed a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday. While highlighting the serious problems faced by
KHANEWAL: Police claimed to have arrested five men, including the primary suspect, for the alleged abduction, gang rape and torture of a 15-year-old girl over several days. The victim was also subjected to an acid attack before being dumped, semi-naked, in a street. Police said that as per the victim statement, the ordeal began when the main suspect, Mustafa Bhatti, a resident of Mohalla Ghareeb Abad, discovered that the girl, with whom he had
A sessions court in Karachi last week found an adult, who had married a minor, guilty under the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013, sentencing him to two years in prison alongside a Rs25,000 fine. The court, however, declared that convictions under the Act do not nullify the validity of a nikkah involving a minor. In Sindh, the minimum legal age for marriage for both males and females is 18. This means that while