PAKISTAN enters its latest polio campaign in a better position than it did a year ago. Only four cases have been reported so far in 2026, compared with 31 last year. That is real progress, but it would be a mistake to read too much into the decline. As vaccinators move through 115 high-risk districts to reach more than 31m children, the real test is whether they can get to those who are repeatedly
Child Rights in Focus
RAWALPINDI: The District Education Authority (DEA) has issued show-cause notices to teachers and principals of 160 schools where pass percentage in the 9th class exam remained around 20 per cent and launched departmental action against 40 schools with zero result. In the 9th class exam conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rawalpindi, 63 per cent students failed and only 37 per cent of students managed to pass. According to the results,
PESHAWAR: Almost every second student failed to qualify the annual intermediate examination conducted by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar as results were declared on Monday. A total of 66,735 students appeared in Part-II of the examination and 35,103 of them qualified it as the pass percentage stood at 52. Similarly, 63,605 students had appeared in Part-I of the examination and 31,169 of them remained successful while 51 per cent of
KARACHI: While investigators said they have so far found no evidence to suggest that the death of five members of a family in an Ahsanabad apartment was a homicide, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Javed Alam Odho has decided to establish a high-powered body to investigate the incident that has sent shock waves through the city. The couple, identified as Dr Umer, 45, and Mehwish, 35, their daughter Zainab, 10, and two other minor daughters were
SWABI: The alleged abduction of two teenage sisters sparked protest in Yar Hussain village of Razaar tehsil here on Sep 20. Protesting people said that the two girls were on their way to a local religious seminary when they were allegedly kidnapped by unidentified persons. The news spread rapidly in the region and went viral on social media. Announcements were made on loudspeakers while calling on the people to reach for protest. The locals
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education on Sep 18 directed early completion of the Centre of Excellence for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to strengthen special and inclusive education through an integrated ecosystem. Secretary Education Nadeem Mahbub visited the under-construction and renovation ASD site to review the progress of work on the project. He was briefed on the physical progress of the project, implementation timelines, outstanding works, human resource planning and overall operational preparedness. According
BAHAWALPUR: As many as 14 schoolchildren, including nine girls, suffered burns allegedly when some bottles containing an acidic chemical exploded after falling on the floor of the laboratory of a private school at Lodhran. According to Lodhran Rescue 1122 media coordinator Mr Safdar, students from Class I to IV of a private school at Adda Permit near Multan bypass were playing with a ball during recess time in a joint classroom, where bottles of
HYDERABAD: The ‘State of Peasants Rights in Sindh 2025’ report, launched by the Hari Welfare Association (HWA), has described bonded labour as “deeply entrenched” across Sindh with 1,311 labourers having been rescued from brick kilns and agricultural sector. These labourers were rescued in police raids under judicial orders and through emergency interventions, which indicated the scale of exploitation in rural labour systems, the report said. Compiled by the association, the report was released at
• Overall female literacy stands at 47pc, only 27.52pc for rural women • Over 4.08m girls between five and 16 remain out of school • Only 4.34pc in police force, 13.7pc in judiciary • Maternal mortality falls to 224 per 100,000 births • Number of women contesting general elections rises from 23 in 2018 to 53 in 2024 KARACHI: The Sindh government on Sep 18 unveiled its first-ever Gender Parity Report, a landmark assessment
QUETTA: Police on Sep 17 arrested the father of a minor girl from Chaman who was allegedly married to an elderly man in Kuchlak. Efforts were also underway to arrest other people who allegedly played a role in the illegal marriage. Chaman Deputy Commissioner Habib Bangulzai confirmed the arrest of the girl’s father, identified as Abdul Bari. He said the district administration was in contact with Quetta police for registration of an FIR and
ISLAMABAD: At least a dozen kidnapping incidents were registered by the capital police in a single day on Sep 17, police said. In the first incident, three women kidnapped a newborn baby boy from Pims Hospital. The police registered a case under Section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code in response to a complaint lodged by the boy’s mother. The police said the women took the boy outside the hospital. However, the incident came
KARACHI: The suspect allegedly involved in the murder of a woman and her three minor children in Sector 7-D of Surjani Town was shot dead by police during an “encounter” on Thursday night, officials said. The suspect, identified as Muhammad Hamayoun Khan, had allegedly murdered Mehwish Danish and her three children — Mirhad, 8, Hasnain, 6, and Ashmeera, 2 — at their home on Sept 14. Speaking at a press conference at his office earlier