ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has remained far from meeting its national and international commitments to protect and promote the rights of children, a report launched on Thursday stated. The report, ‘The state of Pakistan’s children 2015’, was launched by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc). It stated that 10 cases of child sexual abuse took place ...

KABUL: After deadly Kabul suicide attack, Afghan government ordered the Afghan National Security Forces for the ‘no mercy policy’ against militants to eliminate “the enemy everywhere they are spotted”, officials said in a press conference on Thursday. “President Ashraf Ghani has ordered the Afghan National Security Forces to repress the armed insurgents in every corner and nook of the country,” Dawa ...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has no assets abroad, but continues to receive colossal amounts from his son, Hussain Nawaz, who is settled in the UK, reveal the statements of MNAs’ assets released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday. According to the statements of assets for 2015, released amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak, ...

MINGORA: For Razia, the seven years she spent as a victim of Swara, a child marriage custom to settle blood feuds, are the ugliest and harshest of her life. Born in Peshawar and currently living in Swat with adoptive parents, the 27-year-old says her Swara days were full of physical and psychological abuse. She strongly feels had her parents been ...

A large number of girls’ schools have been hit by terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but bad governance and cultural limitations have also played a role in the abysmal state of girls’ education in the province. According to a report by the Conflict Monitoring Center – an organization that monitors anti-state violence in South Asia – more than 758 schools have ...

ASTANA: Former President Hamid Karzai said on Thursday Western sanctions against Russia would not yield the desired results. Addressing the 13th Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) in Astana, Karzai said: “The sanctions imposed on Russia by the West are wrong. They will not be successful.” The EAMF has traditionally been a platform to discuss international events, with this year’s gathering focused on ...

Pakistan-Afghanistan border PHOTO: REUTERS ISLAMABAD: Afghan authorities appear to have lost interest in pushing forward any trade related agreements with Pakistan with the alternative route via Iran close to being finalised. Last week, on April 11, Iran, Afghanistan and India finished negotiating the details of the trilateral transport and transit pact, meant to provide legal framework to operate trade corridors via ...

WASHINGTON: America’s initial assessment of Afghanistan when the Soviet forces invaded the country went wrong, former US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Wednesday. He favoured the United States staying the course in Afghanistan and remaining engaged in the nation-building exercise if Washington really desired to prevent major terrorist attacks. Khalilzad told a Washington audience the United States failed in adjusting its ...

At least 41 militants were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said. The operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in Ghazni, Herat, and Nangarhar provinces. A statement by MoD said at least 19 of the militants were killed in Andar district of southeastern Ghazni province where ...

LAHORE: A property developer summoned by ‘Shariat Court’ of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) on a complaint regarding a monetary dispute has moved the Lahore High Court, seeking action against Qazi (judge) of the organisation’s ‘court’ for running a parallel judicial system. Khalid Saeed of Samanabad has made interior secretary, federal law minister, Punjab chief secretary, Punjab IG, Lahore CCPO and Qazi ...