Pakistan: Karachi Police arrest second suspect in 12-year-old girl's rape and murder case

Karachi [Pakistan], September 2 : The Karachi Police on Monday apprehended a second suspect in connection with the brutal gang rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. The victim's body was discovered on August 25, stuffed inside a bag and abandoned near a garbage dump in the Lucky Star area of the city, Dawn News reported.
An autopsy later confirmed that the girl had been raped and strangled.
The second suspect was captured during a police "encounter" on Abdul Sattar Edhi Avenue in Defence's Phase 8. Deputy Inspector General (DIG)-South Syed Asad Raza announced the arrest, stating that the suspect was found in an injured condition.
However, it remains unclear whether the suspect sustained these injuries during the encounter or if he was already wounded prior to the police pursuit, reported Dawn.
DIG Raza further explained that the suspect was wanted in connection with the heinous crime of raping and murdering the 12-year-old girl. After committing the crime, the suspect is believed to have disposed of the victim's body near Lucky Star.
The DIG also mentioned that an accomplice of the suspect had already been apprehended last week. This earlier arrest had been described by the police as involving the "prime suspect," who was identified as a watchman at Bara Market near Cantonment Railway Station.
While the prime suspect is now in custody, DIG Raza revealed that two additional accomplices, who were employed at the Shalimar bus terminal, remain at large, reported Dawn News.
The case has garnered substantial attention, with Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah both taking notice and demanding swift action from the police to bring the culprits to justice. The crime has shocked the community and intensified concerns about the safety of women and children in Karachi.
The incident is part of a broader pattern of sexual violence in the city. According to Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, who leads the team of medico-legal officers in Karachi's major hospitals, there were 522 cases of sexual assault reported against women and underage girls in Karachi alone during 2023.
Additionally, over 4,040 cases of physical assault on women were reported in the same period, and 22 bodies were exhumed based on court orders for further investigation, Dawn reported.
The issue of child abuse extends beyond Karachi. In March 2024, the NGO Sahil, which works for children's welfare, released data revealing that 4,213 child abuse cases were reported across Pakistan in 2023. The report included cases from all four provinces, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
A gender analysis of these cases showed that 53 per cent of the victims were girls, while 47 per cent were boys. Children between the ages of 6 and 15 were found to be the most vulnerable to abuse, with more boys than girls falling victim within this age group.
Disturbingly, even children as young as 0 to 5 years old were subjected to sexual abuse.
The report also highlighted that the majority of abusers were people known to the victims, including relatives, family members, acquaintances, and even women who acted as accomplices.