SAHIWAL: The prayer leader (imam masjid) who had raped his seven-year-old student and uploaded a video of it on social media was arrested by the Crime Control Department (CCD) after his pistol went off inside his trousers on March 13. The suspect was arrested by CCD after an alleged encounter near Chak 70/4-R at night. The bullet caused a severe injury to his genital area. According to reports, on March 9, the prayer leader
Child Rights in Focus
LAHORE: Around one million students appeared in class VIII exams held across Punjab during the last four days, said the Punjab Curriculum, Training and Assessment Authority (Pectaa). The universal examination exercise was held between March 9 and 12, with nearly one million students participating across Punjab, the Pectaa said in a statement here on Friday. The Grade-VIII standardised examination have been revived by Pectaa after a six-year gap with an aim to restore assessment
PESHAWAR: In a significant move to revitalize the province’s education sector, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi presided over an important meeting of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar. The session conducted a detailed review of the overall condition of model schools and institutes across the province. Officials briefed the participants on administrative, teaching, and infrastructural issues plaguing these institutions. The meeting decided to revive model schools
CHINIOT: The Punjab government plans to enhance the annual Non-Salary Budget (NSB) for schools from Rs16 billion to over Rs20 billion after revision of existing formula indicators. Chairing a meeting, School Education Department Project Management and Implementation Unit (PMIU) Programme Officer Syed Azeem Naqvi said the department was planning to enhance the non-salary funds provided to public sector schools next year to provide missing facilities, improve infrastructure and ensure repair and maintenance of almost
DIJKOT: The body of five-year-old boy who had gone missing from Islampura was found in a canal in Chiniot. The child Azaan, had gone missing while playing outside his home. A kidnapping case was registered. During a protest by his family, Lyallpur Town SP Abid Hussain Zafar and other officials reached the spot and assured the protesters that the case was being pursued. The body was later shifted to the Allied Hospital for post-mortem.
BAHAWALPUR: Musafirkhana police in Bahawalpur district claimed to have killed three alleged rapists and killers of a minor boy while a constable suffered injuries during an ‘encounter’ near Mohani village, about 30 kilometres from here, on March 12. According to police PRO Rao Kashif, acting on a tip-off, a team conducted a raid on the suspects’ hideout during the night. Upon spotting the police team, the three suspects, along with their four accomplices, allegedly
KARACHI: Pakistan faces an escalating crisis of kidney failure, largely driven by consumption of contaminated water. The country is projected to see nearly 25,000 to 50,000 new end-stage renal disease patients this year alone who will require life-saving dialysis or transplantation. These concerns were raised by Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) in a message released on Thursday in connection with World Kidney Day. This year’s theme is ‘Kidney health for all — caring for people,
The National Assembly’s passage of the bill mandating premarital thalassaemia screening in Islamabad is a much-needed first step towards reducing the incidence of the potentially deadly blood disorder. The disorder, which is hereditary, has an unusually high rate of incidence in countries such as Pakistan and areas with large South Asian populations because of disproportionately high numbers of marriages between cousins. While many people with thalassemia do not show symptoms, the disorder usually leads
RAWALPINDI: A key meeting of district education authorities regarding improvements in teaching and academic standards for the 2026-27 academic session concluded on Thursday with the approval of a comprehensive set of administrative and academic measures across Punjab. Under decisions taken at the meeting, all government schools will be required to raise donations to meet operational expenses and establish a “Zakat Bank” to support deserving students and school needs. Schools will also display donor boards
LAHORE: A two-and-a-half-year-old child died after falling into an open manhole in Raiwind. According to officials, the toddler reportedly fell into the sewer manhole and died. The Lahore deputy inspector general (operations) sought a report from the Saddar superintendent of police regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident. He ordered legal action against those found responsible for negligence that led to the child’s death. The police registered a case and initiated legal proceedings in connection
Pakistan has once again found itself in the middle of a rapidly expanding public health challenge: childhood obesity. The latest findings from the World Obesity Atlas 2026 should ideally serve as a wakeup call for our health authorities. Since 2010, the prevalence of obesity among Pakistani children and adolescents has been rising by an estimated 10.6 per cent annually, one of the fastest growth rates in the world. At present, roughly 18 million children
Pakistan possesses a demographic profile that could either become its greatest asset or its most destabilising liability. Unfortunately, we are headed in the wrong direction. To understand the scale of the challenge, it is important to recognise the extent of Pakistan’s educational underinvestment. Unesco has advised a minimum of 4-6 per cent expenditure for education, which our leaders have constantly ignored. Pakistan has been consistently spending only 1.7-1.9 per cent of its budget on