One in four Karachi schoolchildren at ‘high risk’ of development delays — study
One in four Karachi schoolchildren at ‘high risk’ of development delays — study/node/2613219/pakistan
One in four Karachi schoolchildren at ‘high risk’ of development delays — study
This photo taken on November 13, 2024 shows students going back to their home from a community school in Abdullah Goth village on the outskirts of Karachi. (AFP/File)
KARACHI: One in four children aged three to eight years in Karachi’s public schools are at risk of social, emotional, physical, language and cognition development delays, a study conducted by the Aga Khan University (AKU) said on Wednesday.
AKU said it conducted the research among children studying in grades one and two at Karachi’s public schools. The children were measured in each of the five developmental domains — social and emotional, physical, language, cognition and communication skills.
“It was found that 28% of children were vulnerable in at least one of these domains, while about 10% struggled in all five,” AKU said in press release.
The study found that Pashtun children “exhibited the highest vulnerability” in all domains compared to Urdu speaking, Sindhi, Punjabi and Baloch children.
“Boys were also found to be significantly more likely to be vulnerable than girls,” the press release said.
AKU said the study revealed that children’s developmental vulnerability overall is shaped by a combination of gender, family income, and ethnic background elements.
It said identifying these gaps early is important as it can inform strategies that systematically protect and support the healthy development of all children in society.
“An individual’s early years are their most sensitive period, where the most rapid growth and development occur,” Dr. Seema Lasi, assistant professor at AKU and the study’s co-author, said in a statement.
“A child’s developmental health is deeply influenced by their parents, teachers and the social and environmental factors they grow up in.”
Dr. Salman Kirmani, director of the Center of Excellence--Women & Child Health, said developmental health was not only a medical concern but a societal responsibility that begins at home and extends to classrooms.
“Children thrive when they are supported by both quality education and a stable, nurturing home,” he said.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan told the United Nations on Wednesday Israel is burying the two-state solution by expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, while facing no real consequences to prevent the killing of civilians with impunity in Gaza.
Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on the Middle East, Pakistan’s ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said Israel’s military campaign and declared plan to fully occupy Gaza City would lead to further humanitarian catastrophe.
Gaza has been under Israeli assault for 691 consecutive days, with more than 62,000 Palestinians killed, including nearly 19,000 children and at least 270 journalists, according to figures cited by the envoy.
“Pakistan condemns Israel’s so-called ‘military operation’ and planned full occupation of Gaza City – which is nothing but a blueprint for further humanitarian catastrophe, threatening to displace once more up to one million people,” Ahmad said.
“Simultaneously, annexation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem continues unabated,” he added. “The E-1 settlement plan is a deliberate attempt to bury the two-State solution. We strongly condemn this action, which constitutes a clear violation of international law, including Security Council resolutions.”
The Pakistan diplomat noted Israel was deliberately and systematically killing civilians in Gaza.
“Even Israel’s own military data, as reported in the international media, admits that 83 percent of those killed are civilians,” he continued. “Yet, the indiscriminate military onslaught continues, because Israel is confronted with no real consequences for its actions.”
“Hospitals, schools, homes – nothing has been spared,” he added. “The world is now witnessing live-streamed killing of journalists and rescue workers.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has declared its intent to occupy Gaza, while reports of settler violence have surged in the West Bank.
Rights groups and diplomats have also documented periodic visits by far-right Israeli officials to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, where they have performed Jewish prayers and rituals despite long-standing arrangements barring such acts.
The Pakistani envoy highlighted famine had taken hold in Gaza City, threatening half a million people, and accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war.
“Food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel,” he said, warning that starvation of civilians could amount to a war crime.
Pakistan, a longstanding supporter of Palestinian statehood, called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners and an end to forced displacement and settlement expansion.
It also reiterated support for a two-state solution that would establish a sovereign Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
ISLAMABAD: At least 15 people in Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province lost their lives in floods, officials confirmed late Wednesday night, after three monsoon-swollen rivers continued to surge downstream from India while the southern Sindh province braced for inundation amid forecasts of more rains.
Torrential downpours influenced by climate change have killed at least 805 people and injured 1,107 since the season began on June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The highest death toll has been reported in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where 479 people have died and 347 have been injured.
The Pakistan army has expanded rescue and relief operations in Punjab, where heavy rains and excess river waters from India in the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers have created an alarming situation.
“According to the commissioner of Gujranwala and Gujrat division, 15 people have died in the floods, including five from one family in Sialkot’s Sambrial, four in Gujrat, three in Narowal, two in Hafizabad and one in Gujranwala,” said the provincial information department.
Rescuers in a small boat transport residents from the flooded area of Narowal, a town of Punjab province, on August 27, 2025. (AFP)
Reuters reported Wednesday India had opened all gates of major dams on rivers in its part of the Kashmir region following heavy rains, and warned neighboring Pakistan of the possibility of downstream flooding.
Authorities issued alerts for the Qadirabad headworks in Mandi Bahauddin last night, warning of a potential breach that could inundate Hafizabad and Chiniot.
“Deputy commissioners have been instructed to evacuate citizens from these areas,” said Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia.
Residents wade through a flooded street after torrential rains on the outskirts of Wazirabad, Pakistan, on Aug. 27, 2025. (AP)
By 7:30 a.m. Thursday, the provincial information department reported inflows and outflows of 996,660 cusecs at Qadirabad.
The Punjab PDMA also reported extremely high flood levels in the Ravi River at Shahdara, where water flow reached 148,000 cusecs early Thursday, with projections of further increase in the next 12 hours.
At Jassar, flows of 166,000 cusecs were recorded, while Balloki headworks faced medium-level flooding with 93,000 cusecs.
The provincial disaster agency has appealed to citizens to take precautions and cooperate with the administration.
The situation, which has so far battered central Punjab districts, is expected to spread to the province’s south and into Sindh.
The NDMA on Wednesday warned Sindh’s PDMA to evacuate residents from riverine and low-lying areas along the Indus River and its tributaries.
“The NDMA has issued this advisory in view of the exceptionally high and very high flood levels being recorded at upstream locations in Rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej,” Radio Pakistan reported. “It is anticipated these floodwaters will ultimately contribute to rising flows in the River Indus.”
Rescuers ready boats on the banks of the Ravi river, following flood alerts after India opened the gates of major dams on rivers in its part of Kashmir after heavy rain, in Lahore, Pakistan, on August 27, 2025. (REUTERS)
Following the warning, Sindh’s chief minister’s secretariat appointed several ministers as focal persons to monitor threats in Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri.
Provincial legislators along the Indus have been directed to remain in their constituencies for at least a week.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast fresh monsoon rains from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 across the country’s upper and central parts, warning of flash floods in Azad Kashmir, Murree, Galliyat, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northeastern Punjab.
Flight operations at Sialkot International Airport were suspended until 10 p.m. Thursday due to flooding, after the city recorded 405 millimeters of rain this week that paralyzed urban life.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also took an aerial view of flood-affected areas of Punjab on Thursday, with the top NDMA official, Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, giving him a detailed briefing on the overall flood situation in the country.
The prime minister issued instructions to take all necessary measures for protection against floods and for relief operations, according to a statement released by his office.
ISLAMABAD: Ninety Pakistani graduates have secured employment contracts and visas for jobs in the UAE under the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), Pakistani state media reported on Wednesday, saying the move would strengthen the country’s economy.
The NAVTTC is a Pakistani body that develops policies and strategies to enhance the quality and relevance of technical, vocational education and training programs in Pakistan. It also develops curriculum for that purpose, tests skills and maintains links with industries to ensure jobs for Pakistani graduates.
The 90 graduates have been recruited by the UAE-based Transguard Group of Companies and the Emirates Group of Companies for roles in security services, aircraft cleaning, and aviation loading, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said.
“By equipping young Pakistanis with globally relevant skills, we are opening doors to career opportunities abroad while also strengthening Pakistan’s economy,” Wajiha Qamar, Pakistan’s state minister for education, said at an event held in Islamabad to hand over the visa files to the graduates.
She said the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to aligning youth training with international market demands.
“Partnerships with reputable international employers not only expand opportunities for our youth but also enhance Pakistan’s global workforce footprint,” Gulmina Bilal Ahmad, the NAVTTC chairperson, was quoted as saying by the APP.
APP said the starting salary package for the new recruits has been set at AED 2,500 [$680.66] per month, with two-year contracts renewable upon completion.
It said that out of the 90 candidates, 42 were NAVTTC trainees who had completed a six-month English language program to prepare for overseas employment.
Thousands of Pakistanis every year travel abroad for jobs in Gulf countries such as the UAE and ֱ for better work opportunities.
The remittances sent by Pakistani citizens employed abroad are crucial for the South Asian country as it seeks to shore up its foreign reserves, especially as it grapples with a prolonged economic crisis.
Last month, Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment said it sent around 336,999 Pakistanis abroad from Jan. 1 to Jun. 30 this year.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state media on Wednesday announced a fresh initiative by the Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it would strengthen Islamabad’s response to the ongoing monsoon floods and help support 465,000 people.
As per a report in the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), a $1 million donation from the Gates Foundation will support the WHO’s partnership with Pakistan in 33 high-risk, flood-affected districts across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces.
Torrential rains since Jun. 26 have killed over 800 people in Pakistan and injured more than 1,000. Pakistani authorities have ramped up rescue and rehabilitation activities, especially in Punjab, where rising water levels have spiked fears of cataclysmic floods.
“The generous donation from the Gates Foundation – totaling $ 1 million – will serve to support Pakistan’s national and provincial authorities in ensuring the continuity of life-saving health services,” APP reported.
It added that the initiative will strengthen disease surveillance, outbreak response and ensure availability of essential medical supplies in targeted locations, promote health sector coordination, and risk communication.
“The initiative, to be implemented over the next six months, will pay particular attention to pregnant women, children under five, older persons, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the most vulnerable populations in host communities,” the state media said.
Dr. Dapeng Luo, the WHO’s representative in Pakistan, thanked the Gates Foundation for its support to the local population in meeting their health needs, delivering medical supplies and saving lives.
“WHO stands with Pakistan to save lives today and build stronger, more resilient health systems for tomorrow, protecting the future generations,” Dr. Luo was quoted as saying by the APP.
Earlier this week, the United Nations said it has released $600,000 to support Pakistan’s flood response. Officials warn the current monsoon spell could last until at least Sept. 10 and may rival the catastrophic floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people and caused over $30 billion in economic damage.
Despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, facing erratic weather from droughts and heatwaves to record-breaking rains.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) plans to partner in railways, public transport and mineral development in Pakistan could prove “revolutionary” for the country’s economic trajectory.
Media reports this week said ADB is in advanced talks to lead the financing of a $2 billion upgrade of a 500-km stretch of a railway line from Karachi to Rohri in the country’s south that was previously supposed to be funded by China. The upgrade has become urgent as it is needed to transport copper ore from the Reko Diq mine currently being developed by Canada’s Barrick Mining Corp. in the southwestern Balochistan province.
ADB will also reportedly provide a $410 million financing package to help develop the Reko Diq copper mine, one of the world’s largest untapped deposits.
“It is highly encouraging that ADB is interested in partnering in several major projects of Pakistan which will prove revolutionary in the country’s economic trajectory,” Sharif said after he met the lender’s president Masato Kanda in Islamabad, describing the Manila-based institution as “a reliable partner in Pakistan’s journey of development and prosperity.”
The PM added that cooperation in railways, public transport and mineral development would be “extremely beneficial for Pakistan’s economy.”
The prime minister also briefed the visiting team on reforms introduced by his government, including tax revenue mobilization, restructuring of the energy sector, fiscal stability measures, reductions in untargeted subsidies, expansion of social protection, and initiatives to counter climate change.
Kanda, in turn, praised Pakistan’s long association with the bank as a founding member and lauded recent reforms, according to Sharif’s office. He reaffirmed the ADB’s commitment to continued support, pledging enhanced cooperation in infrastructure development, institutional reforms, and climate change initiatives.
