Pakistan's Madrasas: Report
23 June 2011
Why have the madrasas become a subject of such controversy? What roles do madrasas play in Pakistani society? What are the main challenges and opportunities for madrasa reform? Since 11 September 2001, Pakistan’s madrasas have received much attention from the media, policy analysts and politicians. The bulk of the literature has asserted strong links between madrasas and militancy. Madrasas have thus become the focus of a much larger debate...
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Pakistan 2020, A Vision for Building a Better Future: Report
18 May 2011
Preventing Pakistan from further deterioration will require a long-term commitment from the government of Pakistan, the United States, and other international stakeholders to promote genuine reform. According to a report by the Asia Society Pakistan 2020 Study Group, this commitment must be enshrined in a comprehensive package of policies aimed at promoting sustainable constitutional democracy, credible and effective rule of law and law enforcement,...
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Human Rights Situation in Pakistan "Deteriorated": Amnesty Report
13 May 2011
Some positive steps have been taken to empower civilian rule and curb armed militancy but the overall situation of human rights deteriorated further in Pakistan — especially in northwest and Balochistan, said Amnesty International as it launched its global human rights report 2011 here on Thursday on the eve of its 50th anniversary. Salil Shetty, Amnesty International secretary general, told The News that Amnesty stood against all forms...
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Militants Destroy Peshawar School for Girls amid Police Inaction
27 April 2011
Militants blew up a government-run primary school for girls in Adezai area on the suburbs of provincial metropolis on Tuesday, police said. An official of Matani police station said that militants planted five explosive devices at the three-storey building and exploded them through a remote at about 1.25am. He said that it was the second girls` school, which was blown up within a month in the area. “We have time and again asked police high-ups...
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Schools Shut as Fear Drives Teachers Away
26 April 2011
The local school in Wana, the main settlement in Pakistani’s South Waziristan tribal agency, has been closed for several months, and the children only come to play games in the compound. “We have no teacher at the school,” Rida Ali, 8, said. “So we just play or do chores at home.” The teacher who taught them before insecurity shut down schools in the area lives only 1km or so away, but is unwilling to come to work. The...
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State of Human Rights in 2010: HRCP Report
14 April 2011
"As many as 12,580 people were killed across Pakistan in 2010, stated the annual Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report released on Thursday. The annual report, State of Human Rights in 2010, also revealed that there were 581 kidnappings for ransom and 16,977 cases of abductions across the country. Faith based violence claimed the lives of 99 Ahmadis, while 64 people were charged with blasphemy. Violence against various Muslim sects claimed...
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USAid Funds Pakistani Version of Sesame Street
08 April 2011
"In a $20m (£12m) remake of the classic American children's programme, the setting for the show has moved from the streets of New York to a lively village in Pakistan with a roadside tea and snacks stall, known as a dhaba, some fancy houses with overhanging balconies along with simple dwellings, and residents hanging out on their verandas. The Pakistani version, in which characters will speak mostly in Urdu, will feature Rani, a cute six-year-old...
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World Bank Approves $400 Million for Pakistan's Education
25 March 2011
"The World Bank approved a $400 million (248 million pound) loan on Friday for Pakistan's flailing education system, one of the world's worst where the country spends less than 1.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on schooling. The World Bank said $300 million would go to projects at the university level and $50 million each for provincial reform projects at the primary school level in Punjab and Sindh. 'Pakistan's transition to a middle-income...
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Education and Displacement: Report
11 March 2011
"An estimated 60 percent of the 1.3 million IDPs in NWFP and FATA are children, according to UNICEF. In July 2009, Islamic Relief reported that 70 percent of the displaced children displayed signs of trauma. Some 600,000 children in three districts of NWFP were reported to have missed one year or more of school. Schools in the conflict areas were particularly affected, with virtually all of the government schools having been completely destroyed...
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New Campaign Warns of "Education Emergency" in Pakistan
08 March 2011
"With millions of children out of school and one-fifth of teachers playing truant, Pakistan faces an 'education emergency' that costs the economic equivalent of its flood disaster every year, a new campaign has warned. The March for Education campaign, launched with British government backing, deploys stark statistics to draw a picture of a chronically ill system. One in 10 of the world's out-of-school children live in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state...
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