KARACHI: With around 3.6 million abortions occurring annually in Pakistan, the Sindh Population Welfare Department has launched an online application designed to offer free and confidential guidance on contraceptive methods and reproductive health. The initiative seeks to address the challenges faced by couples who are reluctant to visit family planning centres due to concerns about privacy or social stigma. Through the app, users will be able to receive personalised counseling, learn about modern contraceptive
Child Rights in Focus
HYDERABAD: A divorcee employed at a barber shop has turned out to be the suspect who has allegedly kidnapped, raped, and killed a seven-year-old schoolgirl in Mirpurkhas district in connivance with one more hitherto undisclosed suspect. SSP Mirpurkhas Sumair Noor Channa on November 12 shared with the media the police accomplishment of catching the suspect in three days after dead body of Aamna Kundrani was found lying by the side of a distributary in
RAWALPINDI: The Education Department has successfully completed a project to harvest and recycle rainwater for reuse in 18 high and higher secondary schools across the Rawalpindi district. In the next phase, the initiative will be expanded to an additional 100 schools. The project was executed with the financial and technical assistance of the international social welfare organisation SheherSaaz, which operates in the fields of education and social development. The system was formally inaugurated during
PESHAWAR: Private schools functioning in congested residential areas are creating multiple problems for the people residing in urban localities of the provincial capital. The residents of such areas say that they face disturbance in the morning and departure time of students as vans many schools and vehicles of parents cause traffic mess on roads and streets outside private educational institutions. They say that private schools functioning in certain areas of University Town, Hayatabad, and
Jag Baurana is a powerful short film about a poor laborer and his wife trapped in the endless cycle of debt slavery. Their lives revolve around the kiln, a place of relentless work, broken promises, and crushing debt where hope fades with every brick made. This short film exposes the harsh reality of bonded labor in Pakistan’s brick kiln industry, a system that keeps families enslaved for generations. The final, haunting sequence shows the
A citizen from Pakpattan has set a remarkable example of environmental commitment by donating 10,000 saplings to Lahore, aiming to fight smog and promote urban greenery. The plantation drive, organised under the Punjab Forest Department’s Community Engagement Forestry Programme, took place at Karol Forest on 14 acres of land, where local schoolchildren, volunteers, and forest officials joined hands to plant native species including peepal, jamun, and neem. The initiative follows the Friends of Forest Conference held
Security forces killed all terrorists who stormed Cadet College Wana, a town in South Waziristan, and safely evacuated all 650 students and teachers after hours-long operation, security sources confirmed. According to security sources cited by Express News, the attackers, identified as Afghan terrorists, attempted to infiltrate Cadet College Wana. “The assault was completely foiled through a comprehensive and courageous operation by the security forces,” one source said. A fifth terrorist, reportedly a suicide bomber, was
PESHAWAR: The devastating floods that struck Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in August 2025 have not only claimed lives and crippled the economy, but have also severely impacted girls’ education in a province long burdened by conflict, extremism, and poverty. According to official data, nearly 4.9 million children in K-P are currently out of school, including 2.9 million girls. In the newly merged districts, formerly known as FATA, almost one million children remain deprived of education. The
PESHAWAR: Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) of health department will launch two-week campaign on November 17 to safeguard children against measles and rubella in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The drive will continue till November 29 to immunise 600,000 children from six months to five years. The drive will be conducted with the support of education and local government departments and Rescue 1122. The director of EPI, Dr Asghar Khan, told Dawn that on November 10, they
LAHORE: The federal government has recommended Matric arts students to get admission to FSc (Pre-Medical, Pre-Engineering), ICS, and Diploma of Associate Engineering (DAE) programmes. The recommendation was given in 182nd meeting chaired by IBCC Executive Director Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah held at the Punjab Board of Technical Education (PBTE), Lahore, on Monday. IBCC Director Dr Shahzad Ali Gill briefed the participants on the agenda items. During the session, the committee recommended that students of
ISLAMABAD: An alarming figure of 276 cases of violence against children were reported in the federal capital during the first half of the current year. The statistics were unveiled in the Sustainable Social Development Organisation’s (SSDO) Factsheet on Violence Against Children in Islamabad, covering the period from January to June 2025. The data, obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Islamabad police, paints a deeply concerning picture of the state of
HYDERABAD: A seven-year-old child, who had been missing for five days, was found dead with her body packed in a gunny bag and thrown by the side of a water distributary on November 9th, 2025. This gruesome incident occurred in Baloch Mohalla in Jhalori, a rural town in Shujabad taluka of Mirpurkhas district. The town’s residents, who resorted to protests by closing markets and burning tyres, described the incident as nothing less than a