Protests erupt as three children found dead in Kasur

All minors are under the age of 10. The only identified is Faizan, eight years old, who had a broken neck. It is claimed he was raped. Kasur is the same town hit last year by the pedophilia scandal, which broke out following the murder of little Zainab. The proposals of the National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace.


Islamabad (AsiaNews) – Angry crowds have protested in the Pakistani district of Kasur after the bodies of three boys were found dead, all of them under the age of 10. Police have confirmed one boy, Faizan, eight years old, was raped before he died, and he had a broken neck; the other two minors have not been identified, and post-mortem reports are awaited.

The finding of the dead bodies recalls to mind another well-known case of rape and murder in Kasur: that of the little Zainab, seven years old, who was kidnapped, sexually abused, tortured and thrown into a rubbish dump. Today, as in the past, criticisms involve the behaviour of the police, accused of negligence regarding the protection of minors. After her murder, it came to know that the city was the scene of more than 700 episodes of abuses against minors, most of all the authorities ignored.

Zainab’s murdering has pushed the Pakistani society to break the wall of silence that surrounds the issue of pedophilia and rape of minors in the country. The Catholic Church also has strongly condemned the sexual violence against minors.

As per international reports Pakistan is ranked as the 11th country with highest rate of child abuse/ sexual assault with 2500 cases each year and 3rd most dangerous country in the world for women. For that reason, the National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace presented few proposals: to create a Child Protection Office at district level throughout Pakistan; the police should be sensitized over the issues related to protection of children; to form a judicial commission to develop legislations to address the issue of child abuse and child pornography.