Why was my child tortured, asks father of murdered boy in Kasur

KASUR: As the situation remains tense in Kasur after the brutal rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab, in the same district, 80 kilometres West in Patoki, a bedridden Munnawwar Hussain demands justice for the murder of his child.

“Who is the cruel person who tortured my beautiful child so much,” the child’s father lamented.

Hussain’s son, Sharaq aka Bobby, was found strangled to death in a field on Thursday. 

The sixth-grader was in the courtyard of his own home when according to his mother, Salma, someone called him to come out.

“My child was inside the home…he was in the courtyard, when someone called him outside in the evening,” the distraught mother told Geo.tv. “He went outside and never came back. We tried to find him but were unsuccessful…some enemy took him away.”

Hussain appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to ‘come witness his pain.’

“I request the chief minister [Shehbaz Sharif] to come and witness my pain. I am a father just like him [Shehbaz],” he said. “Where did my child go, and why he was so intensely tortured...I want the murderers [to be caught].”

“I request the army chief to find the murderers and bring them to justice.”

According to initial reports, Sharaq had gone missing after he was sent to school three days ago.

In a press conference in Kasur, District Police Officer (DPO) Okara Muhammad Hassan said the police will not rest till the criminal is brought to justice.

“We are committing to you that we will work with the same commitment [that you have previously observed.],” DPO Hassan said. “DPO Kasur and Regional Police Officer [RPO] Sheikhupura will personally supervise [the case].”

“Although [Kasur] is not my jurisdiction, I was sent here on the directives of the Punjab Inspector General of Police.”

“Okara police will also provide support and we will not rest till the criminal is brought to justice,” he said.

The chilling incident has brought to light the existence of a serious child abuse issue in Kasur.

According to data from Sahil – an organisation that works on child protection with a special focus on sexual abuse – out of the total cases of child abuse from January to June 2017, 62 per cent were reported from Punjab.

The number of cases reported from rural areas amounted to 74 per cent, while the number of cases reported from urban areas increased by 10 per cent as compared to the comparable period in 2016.

A public outcry broke out on social media after the recent rape and murder case of seven-year-old Zainab was reported by the media. Members of the civil society, including celebrities, social activists and local leaders, raised their collective voices to demand justice for the wronged child.

The entertainment fraternity, earlier on Thursday, came to the fore to protest against the brutal rape and murder of a seven-year-old Zainab in Kasur. Famous Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, who is also a mother, was present along with other actors and artists at the Karachi Press Club to speak against the issue of child abuse.

Mahira had called upon those in power to act and deliver justice not only to Zainab but all those before her as well. “Those that are sitting in power it is their responsibility to bring justice. It is their responsibility to not just find the man who did this to Zainab, but to all the other cases before that.”

Famous singer and social activist Shehzad Roy had also demanded that the culprits behind the rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab should be given the strictest punishment.