��������

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.

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.