The rape and murder of Kasur's seven-year-old Zainab has shocked the entire nation. The little girl's body was found in a garbage dump nearly a week after she was kidnapped by an unidentified man while on her way to a tuition centre. Equally distressing is the fact that this was the 12th incident in Kasur wherein a minor girl was kidnapped, raped, and strangulated to death. Like the previous horrors, this one too might have remained unaccounted for had the area's people not refused to remain helpless victims of police apathy/inability to nab the perpetrator(s). They had to pay a heavy price, though, for venting rage over systemic failure to protect the lives of their children. Soon after Zainab's body was discovered, angry protests broke out all over the city. One group stormed the DCO's office where the Punjab Police added fuel to the fire by responding with its trademark disrespect for ordinary lives, firing bullets straight into the crowd that left two men dead and at least four others injured. The police obviously have learnt no lesson from the Model Town tragedy. There is something very wrong with their training that tells them they are only to protect the rich and powerful and can treat all others as lesser beings.

Kasur, it seems, has become a favourite hunting ground of pedophiles while the authorities look the other way. It may be recalled that about three years ago, a gang of criminals making pornographic videos of children was uncovered. Instead of taking serious notice of it and ensuring all those involved were brought to justice, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah tried to make light of that criminal activity, saying it was only a case of mutual rivalry between two groups. To date, only one of the 17 accused have been handed sentence, six await trial while 10 walked free, apparently, because the police had prepared a weak case against them. It is quite possible that these same people are involved in so many minor girls' molestation and murder. In any event, if the police were unable to track down the culprit in the present case due to lack of necessary capabilities they could have tried using other means to find him. The CCTV footage that shows the girl being taken away by an unidentifiable man, for example, was obtained from a private source by her family rather than the police. The result is a vote of no-confidence in the police and its commanding authority, the provincial government. While public frustration boiled over in the form of violent protests, unfortunately, rather than seeking the Chief Minister's intervention to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice, Zainab's father made an appeal to the Army chief for help and received an assurance of co-operative assistance.

For now, the two constables and two civil defence officials have been arrested for shooting the protesters, and DPO Kasur suspended. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also formed a joint investigation team to probe the serial rape and murder cases. Hopefully, the resolve to punish all those involved in these ghastly crimes will not dissipate once the media attention turns away.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018