Pakistan engulfed in protests over rape and murder of 7-year-old

Islamabad : Massive protests have erupted in Pakistan over rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl Zainab Ansari; her body was found on Tuesday near a garbage dumpster, roughly two kms from her house.

According to reports by Pakistani TV channels, the girl was raped and then apparently strangled to death. Pakistan police officials told Dawn News that the post-mortem report of the child confirmed suspicions that she was raped before being murdered.

The news left Pakistan residents fuming in anger, leading to protests across the nation. According to reuters, this is not the first time such incident has been reported from Kasur. In the past year, there have been at least 12 such reported incidents in that region.

On January 4, Zainab Ansari had left her aunt's house to attend Quran class in the neighbourhood from where she was abducted. The family registered a missing complaint after the girl did not return home till late night. 

CCTV footage obtained by the family shows the girl walking with a stranger and holding his hand. Some reports claimed that the girl was walking without any apparent signs of fear.

On January 9, a police constable recovered her body from a heap of rubbish.

The victim’s father Ameen Ansari claimed that the police did not cooperate with the family members who registered the complaint. “My relatives and neighbours told me that the police used to come, have food and leave,” he told local media. “While they didn’t do anything, my friends and family spent day and night looking for my daughter,” he added.