ISLAMABAD: A number of organisations have joined hands to develop the Pakistan Youth Development Index (PYDI) 2026 to systematically measure and track the progress of youth well-being and development in the country. The organisations preparing the tool include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP), and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). The SDPI, as the implementing partner of PMYP and UNFPA, will provide secretariat support to the PYDI
Child Rights in Focus
TOBA TEK SINGH: A woman was booked by the Khanewal Chhab Kalan police on Wednesday for retracting her statement in an attempted rape case against a man. Police said that on July 4, the accused woman claimed in her complaint to the police that one Ramzan had attempted to rape her 12-year-old disabled daughter, and he was arrested. However, when she appeared before the area magistrate and recorded her statement, she retracted her allegation
RAWALPINDI: A revelation has come to light concerning 45,000 fraudulent new enrolments across various educational institutions in the Rawalpindi district. Following a complaint, the School Education Department commissioned a third-party survey, which confirmed the existence of these fictitious admissions. Sources at the Rawalpindi District Education Authority Office said that inspection teams formally visited a number of boys’ and girls’ schools in Rawalpindi. During these inspections, it was discovered that the admission registers of several
KARACHI: Every day, eight women in Pakistan lose their lives to cervical cancer — a preventable disease caused almost entirely by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). If timely interventions are not undertaken, experts warn, the burden of this disease could triple in the next seven decades. These alarming statistics were shared by Dr Muneeba Ahsan Syeed, Consultant and Faculty of Infectious Diseases at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre, Dow University of Health
Terrorists struck again at the right to education in Lakki Marwat district, destroying a girls’ primary school in Ghazni Khel tehsil. Fortunately, there were no casualties, though the school building sustained heavy damage. The explosion occurred on the night of September 30 in Pahar Khel Paka village, where unidentified attackers planted explosives inside the Government Girls’ Primary School. The powerful blast reduced classrooms to rubble, rendering the facility unusable and spreading fear among local
The Islamabad High Court has allowed a 15-year-old girl to live with her husband, ruling that “while underage marriage is valid under Shariah, it is considered a crime under Pakistani law.” Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued the detailed judgment in the case of Madiha Bibi, who had married of her own choice. In her statement to the court, Madiha said she did not wish to return to her parents and confirmed her desire to
BALAKOT: Two policemen in Balakot were suspended and placed under departmental inquiry after allegedly detaining and torturing a student in their residential quarters, officials confirmed on September 30. According to the student, the policemen first demanded money and, upon refusal, took him to their residential room where they beat him with belts and subjected him to torture. Following the incident, Mansehra District Police Officer (DPO), Shafiullah Gandapur, took strict notice and ordered immediate action.
DIJKOT: Madina Town police have arrested four men suspected of gang-raping a 15-year-old boy. According to the police, three days ago in the Faqirabad area of Madina Town, five suspects, including Saqlain, Zaheer, Hasnain, Ehsan, and another accomplice, lured the boy who works as a hairdresser, and taken him to nearby fields where they subjected him to sexual assault. During raids at different locations, the police arrested Saqlain, Zaheer, Hasnain, and Ehsan, and began
MANSEHRA: Another youth died of dengue, raising the death toll to three in the district, his family said on September 30. Mohammad Ibrahim, 16, was admitted to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital (KATH) after testing positive for dengue. According to his family, his condition worsened when his platelets dropped sharply. He was referred to Ayub Medical Complex, Abbottabad, where he succumbed to the virus. This was the third reported dengue-related death in Mansehra district, following
LAHORE: A four-member delegation of education sector leaders visited the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on September 30 and agreed with the university to launch a pilot project on adolescent girls’ health in Lahore schools, in line with the Chief Minister’s vision of women safety and empowerment. The delegation, led by Muzammil Mehmood, Chairman CM Task Force on Education, included Moiz Nazir, Member Board of Governors, Punjab Education Curriculum Training and Assessment Authority (PECTAA),
CHAKWAL: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on September 30 vowed to bring an educational revolution in the province claiming that robotics and artificial intelligence would be introduced in the government schools. She was addressing a ceremony held at the University of Chakwal here on Wednesday in connection with laptops and scholarships awards distribution among the brilliant students of Rawalpindi Division. She was flanked by provincial ministers Rana Sikandar Hayat, Uzma Bokhari, Marriyum Aurangzeb
NAROWAL: Five suspects kept gang-raping a girl for five years by blackmailing her through a video in Pasrur tehsil of district Sialkot. A resident of village Dogri Harian filed a complaint with the police, saying that his granddaughter (now 15) was playing outside the house when five youths, residents of the same village, lured her and took her to a mansion where they gang-raped her. They made a video of the incident and kept