Police struggle to trace missing children from Karachi's Garden area

KARACHI: Police remain unable to locate two missing children, five-year-old Aliyan and six-year-old Ali Raza, who went missing from Karachi’s Garden area on January 14. 

Despite extensive efforts, it has emerged, including the use of specialised sniffer dogs and forensic analysis, authorities have yet to make a breakthrough.

The incident came to light when Aliyan's mother, Zainab, returned from work to find her son missing. Upon inquiry, she discovered that Aliyan had been playing outside with Ali Raza and neither had returned home. A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged, and investigations commenced.

CCTV footage revealed two suspects, a man and a woman, taking the children towards Lyari on a motorcycle. However, the footage's poor quality has hindered clear identification. 

A five-member committee led by SSP City Arif Aziz was formed to expedite the investigation. Efforts included geofencing the area and conducting multiple search operations in Garden and Lyari. Despite these measures, no significant leads have emerged.

According to the SSP City, police mobilised various resources to aid the search. Given the limitations of Karachi’s sniffer dogs, trained only to detect explosives and narcotics, authorities specially brought in human-tracking sniffers from Hyderabad. However, despite searching the area to follow scent trails based on the children’s clothing, police failed to secure any leads.

In addition to this, police have been working closely with local residents, who identified several suspicious individuals seen in the area around the time of the disappearance. Based on these reports, police have begun preparing sketches of potential suspects.

Meanwhile, divers were deployed to search the Lyari River near Rexer Line, an area known for past incidents where people, including children, have accidentally fallen into the water. Despite extensive searches, no evidence related to the missing children has been found.

The children’s parents remain deeply distressed. While some individuals were detained and interrogated based on information provided by the family, police cleared them of involvement after questioning.

At this stage, police have yet to determine whether the case involves a kidnapping for ransom or if there is another motive behind the disappearance.

Sarim case investigation also at standstill

Authorities are also struggling to make progress in the separate case of Sarim, another child victim.

Seven-year-old Mohammed Sarim was found dead in his apartment's underground water tank in North Karachi after being reported missing on January 7. An autopsy confirmed that Sarim was subjected to assault before being strangled.

Police confirm they received an initial report showing that Sarim was subjected to sexual assault, but they are awaiting final forensic findings.

Several suspects have been detained and their DNA samples have been sent for analysis. However, until results arrive, police have no conclusive evidence to identify the perpetrator.

Officials say that all investigations are proceeding on the basis of suspicion alone as no concrete evidence has been found yet.