KARACHI: Eighteen people, including a three-year-old, were bitten by dogs in the Jumma Goth area in Bin Qasim Town on December 15. According to the Indus Hospital staff, at least 12 of the 18 patients were bitten by a single dog. “The information we have gathered from a dozen patients indicated involvement of a single street dog that’s highly suspected to be rabid. It attacked other animals as well in the locality and jumped
Child Rights in Focus
Another Girls School Blown Up in Mirali
December 17, 2025
MIRAMSHAH: Terrorists blew up another government primary school in the Mirali tehsil of North Waziristan district on the night of December 14, spreading fear and anxiety among students. According to police, the incident occurred in Eppi village, where unknown assailants planted explosive material inside the building of government girls primary school during the night, triggering a powerful blast that destroyed the structure. Police officials said the school was closed at the time of the
The National Institute of Health issued an advisory on the prevention and control of seasonal influenza (H3N2) after 340,856 suspected cases were reported nationwide between epidemiological weeks 44 and 49. The objective of this advisory is to alert and facilitate the health authorities and other stakeholders to ensure timely preventive and control measures, encompassing preparedness to deal with the increased workload expected in outpatient and inpatient departments during the next few months. According to
‘Missed Diagnosis Costs Lives of 13,000 Kids with Diabetes Each Year’
December 16, 2025
Islamabad:An estimated 26,000 children and teenagers develop Type 1 diabetes in Pakistan every year but 13,000 or nearly half of them do not survive, health experts warned on December 15, saying that delayed diagnosis and the unavailability of life saving insulin are costing hundreds of young lives across the country. They said around a quarter of these children with Type 1 diabetes die before their condition is even diagnosed, while the remaining deaths occur
LoI Inked to Protect Child Health, Well-being
December 16, 2025
Islamabad: The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Unicef to join the Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative and the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future. The officials said many children in Pakistan were exposed to lead at levels that adversely affected their growth, cognitive development, and long-term health, requiring urgent coordinated action. This commitment, according to them, underscores Pakistan’s dedication to protecting children from the impacts
Polio Shame
December 16, 2025
EVERY announcement of a vaccination campaign reflects Pakistan’s recognition of the polio problem and a resolve to defeat the crippling virus. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has launched the final nationwide polio drive of 2025 with the goal to immunise over 45m children. The minister said that the number of polio incidents in the country was lower than last year’s shameful count of 74. Yet he conceded that the scourge exists in “more than half
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved Rs21.8 billion for strengthening school-level service delivery, improving learning environments, and addressing longstanding gaps in infrastructure and human resources at public sector schools. These approvals form part of the government’s broader education reform agenda being implemented under the good governance roadmap, according to official documents available with Dawn. “The major chunk of the approved funds worth Rs6.185 billion would be utilised through parent-teacher councils (PTCs) to support
Education – Opening Doors
December 16, 2025
Pakistan’s education system has long suffered from a chronic absence of structured career counselling, forcing students to make life-altering academic choices at the tender age of 14 or 15, often based on parental pressure, peer influence or sheer guesswork. Against this backdrop, the Inter Board Coordination Commission’s decision to allow matriculation Arts students to transition into Pre-Medical and Pre-Engineering streams is, on the face of it, a progressive correction to an inflexible system that
Exploitation Thrives as Painted Children Work at Karachi’s Signals
December 16, 2025
KARACHI: Child street performers, some as young as eight, spend hours at city intersections and traffic signals with their faces and clothes painted gold. To catch the attention of passersby and earn money for their families or handlers, these children stand robotically still, appearing to any empathetic observer as little more than statues of sorrow. Reportedly, most of these children are associated with professional begging networks that have been using children on Karachi’s streets
Arts Students Allowed to Study HSSC Pre-Medical & Pre-Engineering
December 15, 2025
Islamabad : Effective from the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) 1st Annual Examination 2026, the Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) Forum, in its 183rd meeting, allowed students passing their Matriculation (SSC) in the Arts Group, eligible to register in F.Sc – Pre-Medical and Pre-Engineering groups. This initiative has been taken to facilitate those Martic arts group students who were seeking admission in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) – Pre-Medical and Pre-Engineering groups. According to
Crackdown on Beggars, Addicts
December 15, 2025
TOBA TEK SINGH: The police have initiated a crackdown against professional beggars and drug addicts across the Faisalabad region aimed at reducing traffic disruption, crime and improving the safety of citizens. A press release issued by the office of RPO Sohail Akhtar Sukhera on Saturday said that more than 2,800 beggars and drug addicts had been detained from around bus stands, railway stations, important squares, markets and educational institutions. It said that the detainees
Oil Depot Near School Faces PHC Challenge Over Safety Risks
December 15, 2025
PESHAWAR: A constitutional petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the operation of an oil depot in Taro Jabba, Nowshera, citing serious risks to the lives of schoolchildren. The petition names the federal and provincial governments, the Chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and other relevant authorities as respondents. It has been filed by Tehsil Chairman Gohar Ali and Village Council Chairman Taimur Iqbal. According to the