KARACHI: Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a suspect for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a 10-year-old girl in the Malir area of Karachi.
According to sources, accused Gulzar and Riaz tried to rape a 10-year-old Shabana in Benazeer Society. Sources said accused Gulzar was caught by Port Qasim security personnel and handed over to police while the other suspect Riaz managed to escape from the scene. The girl Shabana is a resident of the Papri area in Malir, sources added.
Police said an FIR has been registered against the accused, further investigation is underway, police added.
Earlier, Child protection NGO Sahil had indicated in its latest report that the number of child sexual abuse cases reported in Pakistan every day gone up in the first half of 2020. According to the report, more than six children on average were subjected to sexual abuse in the period in Pakistan.
In its six-month “Cruel Number” report, Sahil reported that as of June this year, 497 children were sexually abused. The report further said most of the cases were in Punjab — at 57%. Of the rest, 32% were reported in Sindh and 6% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
More than 35 cases were reported in Islamabad, 22 in Balochistan, 10 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and one in Gilgit-Baltistan, the report disclosed. Out of the total reported cases, 62% were from rural areas and 38% reported from urban areas.
At least 173 children were gang-raped, whereas there were 227 reports of attempted sexual assault. Moreover, 38 children were killed after they were sexually abused.
Of the total children who were subjected to sexual abuse, 53% were girls and 47% boys. The NGO also highlighted that 51 cases of underage marriage were reported.
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