The city of Kasur and its surrounding vicinities have been a hub for sexual predators, rapists, and murderers since 2007, yet no pro-active steps have been taken by the authorities to tackle these heinous crimes.
In a news report published by Newsline in 2015, a gang of 25 men was exposed after the police were forced to register more than 22 First Information Reports (FIR) against the suspects for abducting, torturing and raping children between the ages of 5-12. The families of the children had spent 8 years trying to speak out about the atrocities committed against them and it had taken 4 months of protests and national media attention until the FIRs were registered by the police.
The accused men had been active in the area since 2007 and since then had targeted almost 50 children. The suspects were also accused of videotaping these sexual encounters and then extorting money from the family of the victims by threatening to release the video. One of the suspects was found to be the owner of a local photo studio and it was discovered that he had been selling these videos out to the public for Rs. 50 per clip. The local police were also found to be involved in covering up the crimes and aiding the suspects, due to the pressure of several influential people from the area.
In July 2015, police arrested and charged 15 individuals on accounts of sexual assault and extortion. According to the local villagers and the families of the victims, the suspects had extorted upwards of a million rupees in the form of cash and jewelry since they had started their operations in 2007. In 2013 an infant was murdered by the rapists of her mother after the child’s father refused to withdraw his FIR against the accused.
The wife of Nazar Muhammad had been raped by a group of men while she was on her way to Okara to meet her relatives. After Muhammad lodged the FIR against the accused men, they came to his house and forced him to compromise and withdraw his FIR against the suspects. After Nazar refused to comply, the suspects got infuriated and axed his young infant daughter. The local police later arrested the accused suspects.
Heartbroken to hear about Zainab – a 7 year old child abused and brutally killed in Kasur, Pakistan. This has to stop. Gov and the concerned authorities must take action. #JusticeForZainab
— Malala (@Malala) January 10, 2018
In January 2018, the rape cum murder case of Zainab Amin exposed another serial rapist and murderer in the area who was later identified by the police investigators to be Imran Ali. Imran had abducted Zainab while she was on her way to a Quran recital and had forced her to accompany him to an abandoned house which was owned by an influential person in the area. After this, he tortured, raped and strangled the young girl to death before throwing her body out on the streets. Later it was discovered that Imran had also been responsible for the rape and murder of 8 other girls in the area. Imran was sentenced to death and was hanged at Kot Lakhpat Jail in October 2018.
On 28 May 2018, Geo News reported that a FIR had been filed against a group of seven men who have been accused of gang-raping a 13 year old girl in Kasur. The girl was kidnapped from her house and then tortured, raped and left unconscious in the fields. None of the seven accused have been arrested so far and the victims mother has said that she has received several threats to rescind the FIR. Given that we have seen so such disgusting atrocities being committed in the Kasur area for over a decade now, it is surprising that the Punjab Government has not taken any strict measures in order to ensure the safety and security of young children. It is high time that our government takes serious action and measures against the people involved in these crimes and also figures out why Kasur is so prone to crimes of such nature.