SARGODHA: Jhal Chakian police have arrested a doctor allegedly involved in brutal torture of a minor girl employed as a maid at his house in Lahore, after a video clip showing the victim’s plight surfaced on social media. According to Sarfraz, the father of the alleged victim, Hira (16), a resident of Mari village in Sargodha district, his daughter was employed as a maid at the house of Dr Umar Meikan, who also belongs
Child Rights in Focus
RAWALPINDI: Police signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sir Syed Convent Higher Secondary School, Rawalpindi to provide quality education to the children of police officers/ officials. A spokesman for the RPO said that RPO Rawalpindi Region Babar Sarfraz Alpa signed a MoU with the Director of Sir Syed Convent Higher Secondary School and College Rawalpindi, Professor Dr Syed Naveed Hussain. The aim of the agreement is to provide quality education to the
ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from across Pakistan have called for declaring rapid unsustainable population growth a national emergency and integrating population welfare into all development and policy frameworks. They emphasised that Pakistan’s progress depended on ensuring universal access to education, improving reproductive health services, and empowering local governments to deliver family welfare programs at the grassroots level. They were attending meeting of the Parliamentary Forum on Population, organised by Population Council, in collaboration with UNFPA. They urged that
PESHAWAR: Refusal cases against oral polio vaccine continue to record downtrend amid call by Unicef to ensure vaccination of every child below the age of five in every campaign to be able to eradicate the childhood ailment in the country. UNICEF communication specialist Alison Clement told Dawn that they had enlisted support of religious scholars, paediatricians, media persons and community elders to pave way for smooth-sailing of polio immunisation and totally eradicate poliomyelitis to safeguard children against
LAHORE: A minor boy suffered multiple burns when a man allegedly threw him in the furnace in Sheikhupura district here on October 20. The police lodged a case against the unknown suspect who had fled the scene soon after the incident. A resident of Nai Bhaeni, Attya Bibi told the police that her son Hashim (8) had gone to the nearby street to purchase popcorn from a local street vendor. She quoted the witnesses
MANSEHRA: Many victims of the rapidly growing digital scams in the Hazara division have lost their lifesavings, fallen into drug addiction, and even attempted to harm their families in sheer desperation. “I fell prey to an online gaming fraud. In the early days, I won small amounts, which encouraged me to bet big, but eventually, I lost all my hard-earned money and even borrowed money. I went bankrupt,” a resident told Dawn. He said
LOWER DIR: A five-year-old girl, who went missing from Nagri Payeen village in Talash valley, still remains untraced, prompting local elders to convene a jirga to press for vigorous investigation. The jirga attended by political elders, social activists and police officers here the other day voiced deep concern over the child, daughter of Musa Khan, who went missing a few days ago. The speakers demanded of the investigators to deploy modern geo-fencing, monitor movement
A new case of wild poliovirus (WPV1) has been confirmed in district Torghar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, bringing Pakistan’s 2025 polio tally to 30. The virus was detected in a 12-month-old boy from Union Council Ghari, Torghar, marking the second case from the district. The provincial breakdown stands at 19 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine in Sindh, and one
Inspector General of Police Punjab Dr Usman Anwar has approved the release of Rs3.06 million for the welfare of special children of police employees suffering from cerebral palsy and related conditions. According to a Punjab Police spokesperson, 102 special children have been granted Rs30,000 each, while Rs10,000 per month is being provided for the treatment and rehabilitation of such children. So far this year, Rs65.41 million has been disbursed for their welfare. The IGP
Sindh Health minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho on Monday reviewed the HPV vaccination drive and issued directives for including HPV vaccine against cervical cancer in the routine immunisation programme. She said our daughters were our future and protecting them from cervical cancer was the government’s priority. Officials said the health minister chaired a high-level meeting on the ongoing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, reviewed its progress and discussed the future roadmap. Representatives from civil
In a tragic incident in Khairpur, a woman allegedly killed her husband and four children before committing suicide, reportedly over suspicions of her husband’s extramarital affair. All six members of a prominent business family were found dead in their home in Khairpur on Tuesday, in what police believe was a case of murder-suicide. According to A-Section Police Station SHO Inspector Nazir Mangi, officers rushed to the residence of businessman Naveed Arain after receiving reports
ISLAMABAD: Climate change along with water and sanitation have become higher priorities in Pakistan, while perceptions of the World Bank Group’s support have declined in key sectors, according to the results of ‘Pakistan Country Opinion Survey for Pakistan’, commissioned by the World Bank. The survey found that support for climate change initiatives increased from 5 per cent in fiscal year 2021 to 34pc in fiscal year 2025. Similarly, support for water and sanitation rose from