Kasur incidents and state’s response

A hard fact being the state's failure to respond to the dreadful threat of child abuse, rape and murder

The remains of three innocent children were found in Kasur. I was horrified, yet not surprised. In fact, my worst nightmare had come true. Investigations into Zainab’s case revealed that there were five other unresolved cases, where either the DNA was not available or did not match with Zainab’s murderer. There were one or more perpetrators roaming free in the area who had become inactive due to Zainab’s case but could return to action anytime. And they did. I also wrote about it on April 16, 2019.

These three children were amongst at least five cases of missing children reported in recent months. Yet there was no significant action on the ground. But when their bodies were found and the harrowing details took social media by storm, only then the government sprang into action.

The Chief Minister “took notice” of the incident and formed a JIT, yet the case didn’t merit a personal visit by him to Kasur. The District Police Officer was transferred, the SP Investigations surrendered, and the DSP and the SHO were suspended. Everyone in the chain received his due share as per his position in the pecking order from this largely cosmetic exercise undertaken to appease the media. Such predictable actions have become a standard operating procedure of sorts, where this tragically comical performance is repeated every time a case gets media spotlight.

The cross-country End of Childhood Index reveals that the child homicide rate in Pakistan stands at 6.5 deaths per 100,000 population (age 0-19), which is 4-5 times more than that in India (1.3) and Bangladesh (1.5). About 7-10 children become victims of sexual exploitation every day and these numbers just depict the tip of the iceberg, considering that the majority of child abuse cases remain unidentified or unreported.

The hard fact is that the state has completely failed to respond to the dreadful threat of child abuse, rape and murder. And even Zainab’s gruesome murder failed to nudge the state.

At the operational level, there are no visible changes in how the cases of missing children are reported or handled. Convictions remain abysmally low. There is not even a public registry of convicted child offenders. Establishing a forensic DNA databank figures nowhere on the agenda of politicians, despite the fact that it could potentially change the way these cases are investigated. The hurriedly drafted Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Bill 2019 is still pending enactment, not that it would make a difference. There are at least 14 special laws dealing with children’s issues at the federal level, besides a plethora of provincial statutes. These laws have created dozens of child protection commissions, bureaus, units and other institutions that continue to draw hefty public budgets but have failed to create any significant impact. There is not even any publicly available reliable government data on the number of missing children and the reported cases of child abuse. Therefore, there is no reason why a new authority would be any different.

Moreover, there is no realisation in the government that child abuse is not merely a law and order issue, and prevention is where much action is required. Despite the widespread menace of child abuse, there have been no significant efforts for awareness-raising, identification and reporting, or even the rehabilitation of the victims.

In order to realise the enormity of the state’s aloofness with the situation on the ground, one must visit the website of District Police Office, Kasur. Despite a scarred history and chequered record of child abuse, pornography, rape and murder cases, the website warns the citizens of car thefts, narcotics and even cattle rustling. But what deserves no mention on the website is the continuing threat of child predators on the loose in the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2019.

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