ISLAMABAD: Mukhtar Ahmed Rathore, father of five-year-old Umar Rathore, who was murdered in Bhara Kahu after being kidnapped for ransom in 2019, rejected the Supreme Court’s decision to commute the two death sentences awarded to the killers to life imprisonment and termed it a murder of justice. Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club along with his daughter, son, son-in-law and other family members, he appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan,
Child Rights in Focus
TOBA TEK SINGH: A four-year-old child kidnapped from Pirmahal tehsil seven days ago, was recovered after an encounter in which one of the three suspected captors was killed and another was injured late on the night of 17th May. Toba DPO Akhlaqullah Tarar informed newsmen while handing over the child to his parents at Pirmahal Chak 755 GB on Monday, that Ibad Waqas was playing in the street when two bikers came from Pirmahal
LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) on May 18 launched the first phase of a four-part capacity-building programme in collaboration with the Unicef aimed at incorporating nutrition and child health interventions into the MBBS curriculum across Punjab. The initiative began with a three-day training workshop on community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). It was attended by medical educationists, paediatricians, public health experts and healthcare trainers from medical colleges and teaching hospitals across the
KARACHI: In a move to protect some of the province’s most overlooked workers, the Sindh Assembly on May 11 passed the Domestic Workers Welfare Bill 2025, bringing formal safeguards to the employment and working conditions of household workers across the province. According to the bill, which requires gubernatorial assent to become law, a domestic worker is defined as a person who does domestic work in a household. The new law lays down clear terms
ISLAMABAD: The prime accused in the murder case of 17-year-old TikTok influencer Sana Yousaf retracted his earlier confessional statement admitting to the murder while testifying before the trial court on Monday, alleging that Islamabad police had falsely implicated him in the case. Last year, Umar Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — had confessed before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that he shot Sana. In his
TOBA TEK SINGH: The incident of a four-year-old girl falling into a manhole and drowning seven days ago in the Tayyaba Town of Tandlianwala has taken a new turn after the Tandlianwala City Police booked six persons for killing her on May 17. Complainant Laraib Qasim claimed in her FIR that her deceased daughter Hania (4) went out on the evening of May 10 to play in the street where Mudassar Malik, his son
KARACHI: Expressing concern over the rising incidence of hypertension in the country, speakers at a seminar shared that the condition has emerged as one of the most pressing public health challenges in Pakistan where an estimated 400,000 people die of complications caused by high blood pressure every year. The event was organised by Dow Institute of Cardiology (DIC) in connection with World Hypertension Day on May 15. Sharing global data, Dow University of Health
SWAT: The police on may 16 registered a case against four persons for allegedly abducting and assaulting a 17-year-old girl for 16 days in the Khwazakhela area of Upper Swat. According to an FIR, the victim told police that her mother was under treatment at Saidu Sharif Hospital. She stated that after spending three days at the hospital with her mother, she was on her way home when four accused, residents of Barkalay, Koz
Islamabad: Police rescued a 14-year-old girl and arrested three suspects within 24 hours of her alleged kidnapping and rape on the outskirts of the capital on May 16. According to Karpa police, the girl left her home in a housing society following a domestic dispute. While on the road, she accepted a lift in a private vehicle. The driver allegedly took her to Jhangi Syedan instead of her destination and, along with two accomplices,
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on May 15 ordered “timely and coordinated preparedness” to prevent loss of public life and property as well as infrastructure during the upcoming monsoon season. He directed all relevant departments to ensure complete operational readiness ahead of time and warned that negligence or administrative complacency would not be tolerated under any circumstances. “Vulnerability mapping of high-risk areas, standard operating procedure training and mock exercises should be completed by June
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister on May 14 chaired a second consecutive meeting to review the ongoing development projects across the province, during which divisional commissioners presented progress reports via video link. The chief minister directed authorities to install safety nets beneath manhole covers throughout Punjab to enhance public safety. The polyester-strip safety nets will be fixed inside manholes, gutters and drainage systems. A pilot project has been launched in Gujranwala, where polyester safety nets
Twenty million children are characterised as ‘out of school’ in Pakistan. This figure is alarming on its own. But there is a second, quieter crisis unfolding inside the school system that we’re neglecting. A crisis that never makes the headlines and a crisis no enrollment campaign will solve. When you enter a government primary school in rural Sindh during planting or harvest season, there is a good chance you will find it half empty.