RAWALPINDI: Additional District and Sessions Judge Afshan Ijaz Sufi on Monday sentenced an accused to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs200,000 and compensatory damages amounting to Rs500,000, in the high-profile student sexual assault case registered at Saddar Beruni Police Station. In the assault case, the court found Jaleel Nawaz alias Jeela, son of Muhammad Nawaz, guilty of sexually assaulting student Daniyal and engaging in indecent conduct. The convict was awarded
Child Rights in Focus
KALA SHAH KAKU: The man accused of murdering his three-year-old niece and dumping her body in a sewage canal in Kot Pindi Das has been killed in an alleged police encounter, bringing a chilling case to a dramatic close. Police said Umar Farooq, who had confessed to killing his niece Zainab, died after being hit by bullets fired by his own accomplices during a shootout with CCD police near Jhoke Kalan Road. Police officials
LAHORE: The Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) has rescued a 12-year-old domestic worker from a house in the Walton area where she had been allegedly subjected to physical abuse. According to CPWB Chairperson Sarah Ahmad, a complaint regarding the matter was received through the Child Helpline. The girl was recovered from the residence of a doctor couple accused of routinely beating her over minor issues during the two years she had been employed
BAHAWALPUR: Thatha Sadiqabad police in Khanewal district claimed to have arrested an employee of the government primary boys school at 138/10-R village on the charges of raping an eighth class student. According to police, the class four school employee ‘A’ allegedly raped a student ‘U’. The police, on the complaint of the victim’s father Shaukat, registered an FIR under section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the suspect and arrested him. The
PESHAWAR: The department of social welfare, merged districts, with the support of UNICEF on October 26, organised a vibrant event here titled ‘integrated sports, theatre, and arts activities for creative healing and resilience’. The initiative aimed to strengthen child protection systems by engaging marginalised community children and their caregivers in inclusive and participatory activities. Children from the Hindu community in Peshawar actively participated in sports, art, and theatre sessions that encouraged teamwork, creativity, and
The Sindh government’s Directorate of Literacy and Non-Formal Education in collaboration with The NGO World Foundation (TNWF) organised a grand letter of understanding (LoU) signing ceremony on October 24 for the establishment of 133 non-formal education (NFE) centres in the Karachi region. Officials said the event took place at the Beach Luxury Hotel and marked a major step forward in the province’s mission to promote inclusive and equitable education. The ceremony celebrated the partnership
In an age where generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, the education systems of most developing countries remain trapped in an outdated, industrial-age framework. The model still in use today was designed over two centuries ago, during the Industrial Revolution, to produce compliant workers – clerks, factory labourers and obedient subordinates – rather than innovators, critical thinkers or adaptable problem-solvers. Yet, the twenty-first century is a different world. AI agents can write software,
Last week, Pakistan’s polio tally for 2025 went up to 30. The latest case was recorded in district Torghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where over half (19) of this year’s polio cases have come from. While the tally for this year is still much lower than the 74 cases recorded last year, it is five times higher than the 2023 total and a third higher than the 2022 total. As such, the country’s polio ordeal
PESHAWAR: A policy dialogue held here on October 26 underlined the importance of multilingualism in improving learning outcomes and promoting inclusive education in the country. The event was jointly organised by Durbeen, a Karachi-based NGO, the University of Oxford and Institute of Education and Research, University of Peshawar as part of a research initiative – Data and Research in Education-Research Consortium (DARE-RC). Led by Dr Fauzia Shamim from Durbeen and Dr Aliya Khalid from
The Sindh Education and Literacy Department has decided to conduct a complete audit of records, related to the implementation of the 10 per cent freeship policy, in all private schools across the province. This decision has been made in accordance with the Sindh High Court (SHC), Sukkur Bench, judgment issued on October 9, 2025, on a Constitutional Petition No 1592/2025. The 10% freeship policy requires all private schools in Sindh to offer free education
The Sindh Child Labour Survey 2022–23, based on data from nearly 57,000 households across 29 districts, provides a detailed view of children’s living conditions, schooling, and work. It finds that only two-thirds of children aged 5–17 attend school, with significant gender and rural–urban gaps. Around 12% of children are engaged in work and 10% in child labour, most commonly in agriculture, with boys more likely to work than girls. Child labour is strongly linked
LAHORE: Amid the worsening smog in Punjab, the provincial government on Sunday revised the school timings, with schools set to begin daily sessions from 8:45am. The Punjab School Education Department notified the revised timings just hours after Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat confirmed the same on his X account. As per the revised schedule, schools will conduct classes from 8:45am to 1:30pm from Monday to Thursday, while on Friday, schools will close at 12:30pm.