Additional District and Session Judge Usman Wali Khan on Sunday awarded death sentence to a man for sexually molesting and killing a minor girl in 2007.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 9 million on convict Bilal, who is said to be the next kin of the minor girl.
Police had recovered the body of the minor girl two days after Bilal kidnapped her on January 26, 2007.
According to police, Bilal had admitted his crime during interrogation. The convicted person has the right to challenge the verdict within 15 days.
Rights groups say the rising trend of sexually abusing minors in the country is a matter of grave concern
The findings of Sahil’s six-month ‘Cruel Numbers’ report (Jan-Jun 2018) show that a total of 2,322 child abuse cases were reported in newspapers from all four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
According to data, almost 12 children were abused per day during the said period. In 2018, the cases of child abuse have increased by 32 percent as compared to the 1,764 cases in January-June 2017.
Published in Daily Times, December 3rd 2018.
