Another Peshawar girl faces assault

10-year-old left in critical condition after gang-rape by neighbours

Incidents of sexual violence against girls in Peshawar have escalated into a grave crisis, with another child becoming the latest victim of a gang rape by neighbours that left her in critical condition.

According to Chamkani police, the father of the 10-year-old girl, residents of Budhai, reported that his daughter had remained unconscious for several days. Upon regaining consciousness, she disclosed that three neighbours, Ismail, Ibrahim and Hamza, also residents of Budhai, had forcibly taken her to an under-construction quarter and subjected her to rape, after which her condition deteriorated critically.

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Police shifted the victim to hospital for medical examination. A medical report is awaited. A case has been registered against the three accused under the Child Protection Act as well as Sections 375-A and 53 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and efforts to arrest them are under way.

The latest incident comes amid a string of similar cases. Only recently, two women were gang-raped inside a house within the limits of Rahman Baba police station; the accused were later killed by their own companions’ gunfire during a scene identification. Days earlier, cases of sexual abuse of underage girls involving the digging of graves were reported in the Badhaber police station area. An Afghan migrant accused who was in custody was also killed during an attack on police.