[DAWN] THE recent arrest of a known paedophile, Sohail Ayaz, has raised serious questions about the government’s handling of child sexual abuse cases.Ayaz had previously been convicted and sentenced to prison in the UK for child sexual offences, and then, reportedly, deported by Italia for his links to a child pornography ring. Unfortunately, this was not flagged by the authorities here, and he was able to secure a working contract with a KP government department under a foreign-funded project.
If it hadn’t been for the mother of his latest alleged victim, there would have been no stopping his sickening activities. She approached the police in Rawalpindi when her son disappeared for four days. Police said that Ayaz has admitted to raping at least 30 children in Pakistain alone.
The incident reflects the extent of the unspoken social embargo on the subject of child sexual abuse in the country. As many as 1,300 cases of child sexual abuse have been recorded only in the first six months of this year, according to the NGO Sahil. Yet, the reported cases are only the tip of the iceberg as countless parents shy away from registering police cases.
It is astonishing that Ayaz was caught after allegedly raping 30 children; had none of the parents of the victims come forward to report the crime to the authorities and demand stern action? This also shows the parents’ lack of trust in the law-enforcement authorities that have a track record of victim shaming and mishandling cases of this nature.
Who can forget the comment of a police officer in Shahzad Town, Islamabad, who told the family of a missing 10-year-old girl in May that she might have eloped? When the police did spring into action later, after widespread condemnation, it was discovered that the suspect had been booked in two similar cases.
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another explosion...
the Chunian case suspect was found to have been nearly arrested twice before. Then there was the notorious serial rapist and killer Imran Ali in Kasur city, who was caught only after protests erupted when the body of little Zainab was found in a garbage dump. Four years after the child pornography ring was busted, the victims ‐ almost 300 victims ‐ from Hussain Khanwala village in Kasur district still await justice.
We as a society continue to fail our children. We will keep doing so until we open up and acknowledge the depth of the malaise within.
Related:
Shahzad Town: 2019-07-01 Four police officials sacked in Farishta abduction, murder case
Shahzad Town: 2019-05-31 Judicial probe into Farishta's murder recommends strict action against police officials
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Shahzad Town: 2019-07-01 Four police officials sacked in Farishta abduction, murder case
Shahzad Town: 2019-05-31 Judicial probe into Farishta's murder recommends strict action against police officials
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Chunian: 2019-11-07 Chunian case suspect confesses to killing 4 minor boys
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Chunian: 2019-11-07 Chunian case suspect confesses to killing 4 minor boys
Chunian: 2019-11-06 In Pakistan's Kasur, child rapes and killings continue unabated
Chunian: 2019-10-17 Chunian killings: Primary suspect remanded in police custody for 14 more days
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Imran Ali: 2019-08-11 2 suspects confess to have laundered money for Shahbaz, sons
Imran Ali: 2018-10-31 Mashal murder case: PHC upholds suspension of 25 convicts' sentences
Imran Ali: 2018-10-30 Seven convicted in Rotherham grooming gang trial in first MAJOR prosecution
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Kasur: 2019-11-07 Chunian case suspect confesses to killing 4 minor boys
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Zainab: 2019-11-13 Sudanese girl accuses ICC-wanted Mahmoud Al-Werfalli of torturing, killing her mother
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Zainab: 2019-10-18 Iran-backed militias used snipers in Iraq to help quell recent protests – report