Lahore: The Punjab government has made genetic testing, including for thalassemia and other diseases, mandatory for students seeking admission to schools, colleges, and religious seminaries across the province. The measure is part of the Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025, passed by the Punjab Assembly, which applies to all public and private educational institutions. Beta Thalassaemia is the most common genetic disorder in the country, with a gene prevalence rate of approximately 6%. This translates as
Child Rights in Focus
PAKISTAN’S inability to efficiently utilise allocated development funds is severely hampering our economic progress and climate resilience efforts. With more than $2 billion underspent annually, the country’s absorption capacity has become a critical bottleneck. Instead of reforming archaic processes, we have begun to blame our malaise on the absence of bankable projects. Multiple documents have addressed the issue of underspending and project implementation delays in Pakistan. Numbers from the Economic Affairs Division show that
RAWALPINDI: Police have been directed to immediately establish women and child protection centres at every police station in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal districts. A police spokesman said on 23 April that the move aims to ensure a safe and supportive environment for women and child victims. Dedicated female police officers will handle matters related to vulnerable victims, he said. As per the directives issued by Rawalpindi Regional Police Officer Babar Sarfraz Alpa, affected
ISLAMABAD: In a bid to support routine vaccination, Unicef has handed over 31 refrigerated trucks to the Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI), with the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This initiative builds upon ongoing support that includes the delivery of 23 refrigerated vehicles in 2021 and seven pick-up trucks earlier this year. These investments are aimed at strengthening routine immunisation, improving outreach capacity, and bolstering the overall health system. “Every child has the
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on 21-April-2025 inaugurated a week-long province-wide polio eradication campaign targeting over 10.6 million children under the age of five, including 2.76 million in Karachi. The campaign, which will run from April 21 to April 27, will be supported by nearly 70,000 trained frontline workers going door-to-door across the province, including schools, shopping malls and transit points, to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated. The launch ceremony
PESHAWAR: A report has been released detailing the steps taken to ensure transparency and prevent cheating during the ongoing matriculation examinations under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar. The report covers six districts: Peshawar, Charsadda, Upper Chitral, Lower Chitral, Mohmand, and Khyber. According to the report, the licenses of two private schools have been canceled, and 37 examination staff members have been relieved of duty for negligence or involvement in malpractice.
A model court on 21-April-2025 sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for murdering his wife by dousing her with petrol and setting her ablaze after an argument over her missing earring six years ago. Additional Sessions Judge Ameeruddin of the Model Criminal Trial Court (West) observed that the prosecution conclusively proved the charge of murder against the accused, Mehtab Ali, beyond any reasonable doubt. “The involvement of Mehtab in the commission of
GUJAR KHAN: A suspect being investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting and killing his seven-year-old niece died of bullet injuries when his accomplices opened indiscriminate firing on a police team at the crime scene in Mandra, police said on April 22. In the First Information Report (FIR), the girl’s father had reported that he and his family were celebrating Easter when his daughter playing outside the house disappeared at around 3pm on Sunday. He said
These lone teachers are forced to manage all academic and administrative responsibilities singlehandedly. BAJAUR: Despite the provincial government’s lofty claims and the allocations of billions of rupees to the elementary education sector, many government schools in the Bajaur tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa remain without adequate teaching staff. Residents of Charming Hilal Khel have urged the concerned authorities to take immediate notice of the situation. Locals told The Express Tribune that a severe shortage of
THE International Mother Earth Day, observed every year on April 22, is in many ways an acknowledgement that we are entirely reliant on everything that happens on Earth, and, therefore, we need to make sustainable contributions that strengthen our relationship with the planet we inhabit. But, is a single day enough to do the job? When we look around, there is no doubt that nature is suffering right now. The swift transformations occurring within
RAWALPINDI: As the district launched its week-long polio vaccination drive on April 21, health workers in at least three tehsils – Kahuta, Kallar Syedan, and Gujar Khan – refused to participate in the campaign to protest the decision to outsource public-sector hospitals. According to Young Doctors Association’s office-bearer Dr Aarif Aziz, the notification for the outsourcing of the Jinnah Hospital Lahore had been issued while there was a plan to outsource different departments of Mayo
GUJAR KHAN: A seven-year-old girl, who went missing on April 20, was found strangled to death and allegedly sexually assaulted in an under-construction house located in her neighbourhood in the limits of Mandra police of Gujar Khan. Police have registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s father. According to the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant said they were celebrating Easter with family and relatives and his daughter was playing outside the