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
Child Rights in Focus
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
Rawalpindi: The APNA Foundation, working under the aegis of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APNA), has formally inaugurated a state-of-the-art APNA Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Chakwal, marking a significant milestone in the development of healthcare services in the region, says a press release. The inaugural ceremony was graced by Dr Hamira Qamar, President of APNA, as the chief guest. A large number of distinguished professors, medical practitioners,
Police in the Manghopir neighbourhood of District West arrested a water tanker driver for allegedly crushing a minor boy to death on 5 January. According to the police, the accused was driving at high speed when he struck seven-year-old Arif, son of Ghulam Abbas, who was present on a street in the area. The child sustained critical injuries and died on the spot before receiving any medical assistance. SSP West Tariq Mastoi said that
KARACHI: Police on January 4 claimed to have arrested a man for his alleged involvement in killing a woman and her three children. Partially decomposed bodies of Anila, 35, her two sons, Husain Ali, 12, and Konain Ali, 10, and daughter Kishwara Zehra, 13, were found in a pit off Karachi’s Mai Kolachi Road on Friday night. A statement by the office of Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar identified the prime suspect as
Rawalpindi: A sharp fall in mercury and chilly weather conditions being witnessed after a spell of rainfall in this region of the country along with snowfall on neighbouring mountainous regions may cause serious health hazards particularly for children, the elderly and the chronic patients. The three Rawalpindi Medical University allied hospitals including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital along with private healthcare facilities in town have already been receiving a