A wave of fear and shock has been sweeping the residents of Chunian, a town in District Kasur near Lahore, after the eighth case of child abuse was registered in just 15 days of this month.
The town of Chunian has become the hotbed of child abuse cases with an incident on every other day. The latest case of nine-year-old Farhan, the 8th victim, failed to nudge the authorities to get serious about the rising incidents of the child abuse, days after the Parliament had passed the Zainab Alert Bill, ensuring life terms for convicts of the child abuse.
Farhan, a student of class two and a resident of Chunian’s Shaukat Town, was allured by two accused Bilal (aka Bali) and Umer into the nearby fields where both of them reportedly abused the child. Upon the child’s crying, both the accused who are cousins fled the scene, leaving the child in a serious condition without clothes.
The police registered the case against both the accused on the application of the victim’s father.
Taking the immediate action on the incidence, DPO Kasur formed a special team to nab the accused. The police assured that both the accused would be put behind the bars soon.
As many as eight cases of child abuse have been reported in Chunian during the first half of this month with no arrests in any case, suggesting the government’s apathy.
Pakistan in August 2015 was rocked by a major paedophilia scandal when it was revealed that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from the village of Hussain Khanwala in near Kasur district had been created and were being circulated.
About 20 arrests were made, but only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law by then. The Zainab Alert Law also criminalises child trafficking within Pakistan. Previously traffickers were only liable for punishment if they removed children from the country.