SAHIWAL: A nine-year-old Sahiwal girl found dead while medical report of the deceased revealed that the minor was raped before being killed.
According to the sources, the minor Rukhsana was abducted and was taken to an unknown location where her body was later found mauled, molested, and mutilated.
The medical report found that nine-year-old Rukhsana had conceded ax-strikes on her head while multiple scars of the sharp instruments were also visible which possibly led to her abominable murder.
However, it has yet to be reported whether the police have begun the search for suspects or have booked anyone on suspicion, sources 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.
The conclusions were drawn from January-June 2020 data from 84 newspapers and covers incidents from all four provinces, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and GB, it added.
“Even as cases of child sexual abuse are reported with increasing frequency across the country, the government had not taken any concrete measures to address flaws in the investigation of such cases or the implementation of the relevant laws, the report stated.
