LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that parents cannot surrender or extinguish future rights of a minor child, including maintenance and inheritance, through a private agreement or compromise before a family court. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the ruling deciding a petition filed by Waleed Arshad challenging judgments of the lower courts regarding maintenance and delivery expenses of a minor child. Although the petitioner withdrew the petition after reaching a compromise with
Child Rights in Focus
SHAKARGARH: Police have registered a case and launched an investigation after an alleged incident of assault involving a minor student at a madrassa in the Rangra area on the outskirts of Shakargarh sparked concern and outrage in the locality. According to police, the FIR was lodged on the complaint of the victim’s father, following which raids have been launched to arrest the nominated suspect. The case involves allegations against a kitchen staff member of
TAXILA: Police in Khor town of Pindigheb foiled an underage marriage and booked eight persons including bridegroom, his mother, bride’s brother and other facilitators under Child Marriage Act. Those who face legal action are those who solemnized the nikkah (marriage contract) and nikkah registrar. According to sources, Noman Ashraf has contracted the marriage of his 16-year-old sister Manahil Ashraf with Mohsin Ali in Kamyial village a few days ago and her departure (rukhsati) was
MANSEHRA: Educationists and heads of schools and colleges from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on June 15 stressed that the government should increase the education budget and take measures to enroll out-of-school children in educational institutions for the prosperity and development of the province. “Around five million children in our province alone are out of schools, which is highly lamnetable and needs to be addressed with sincerity and dedication,” former provincial education minister Inayatullah Khan told
CHAKWAL: Pakistani-Australian family’s vacation following the completion of the holy Hajj pilgrimage ended in an unimaginable tragedy when a nine-year-old girl was shot and killed in an incident involving local law enforcement. The victim, identified as Hania Adeel, was fatally shot when officers from the Crime Control Department (CCD) allegedly opened fire on the family’s vehicle, mistaking them for fleeing robbers. The tragedy has triggered intense grief within the local and overseas communities, leading
The magnitude of drug abuse among students in Karachi continues to get worse, despite intervention efforts by the government and social welfare groups. While reliable data is hard to come by due to taboos around the subject, a 2024 survey by the Pakistan Narcotics Control Board found that 44% of university and college students were engaged in drug use, with one in five schoolchildren having experimented with drugs at least once. Anecdotal evidence from
Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2025-26 offers a useful yardstick to gauge the state of the country’s health and education sectors over the past year. The assessment, however, offers little cause for celebration. Beneath the government’s claims of gradual progress, Pakistan continues to rank among the poorest performers in South Asia on key human development indicators while spending less than 1% of GDP on both health and education. The survey is therefore a record of what
SWAT: Hundreds of residents gathered at Matta Chowk here on June 12 to demand immediate recovery of a young girl who has been missing for nearly two years, urging law enforcement agencies to take effective action in the case. The protest was organised by the Swat Olasi Pasoon and attended by civil society members, human rights activists, local elders, youth representatives, and residents from various parts of the district. Among those who addressed the
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has pledged to eliminate child labour, ensuring a safe, dignified and prosperous future for children across the province. On the World Day Against Child Labour, the chief minister reaffirmed on Friday the government’s resolve to eradicate the menace and urged parents to provide their children with access to education, healthcare and recreational opportunities. She emphasised that respect for children’s rights is a hallmark of a civilised and dignified
KARACHI: A sessions court on June 12 sentenced a man to death on charges of rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in 2022. Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Naseer Noor Khan found Muhammad Irfan, a plumber by profession, guilty of the crime and handed him capital punishment on two counts — for committing rape and murder. The court also ordered the convict to pay total Rs1 million to the legal heir of
ISLAMABAD: An estimated 8.6 million children aged between 5 and 17 are currently engaged in child labour in Pakistan, according to figures shared during a briefing held in Islamabad to mark World Day Against Child Labour. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) organised the media briefing on Thursday to highlight the scale of child labour in the country and to underline the need for coordinated national action to address the issue. The session was told
A DECADE ago, during one of the ‘Growing Up’ sessions I was holding in Karachi schools, I talked to seventh graders about drugs and addiction. Their interest and giggling prompted me to ask whether they knew where drugs could be obtained. They named several locations. Later, I realised that drug availability among the youth is far more common than we may believe. Perhaps the most alarming evidence is found in rehabilitation centres where children