LAHORE: A case of alleged gang rape of a nine-year-old boy has surfaced in Lahore’s Green Town, with police yet to arrest the suspects nominated in the First Information Report.
According to details, despite the registration of the case, the investigation wing of the police has so far failed to arrest the nominated suspects.
According to the FIR, the nine-year-old boy had left home to fetch something but did not return even after a considerable time had passed.
The FIR states that when the family began searching for the child, he was allegedly found under a bed at the house of the suspects.
The FIR alleges that Faizan, Saqlain and Azaan, along with two further accomplices, subjected the child to alleged assault. Following the incident, the Green Town operations wing registered a case against the suspects.
According to police sources, 24 hours after the registration of the case neither the operations wing nor the investigation wing had been able to reach the suspects, while action to arrest them is continuing.
In accordance with The Lahore Times policy on minors and victims of violent crime, the child has not been identified and no identifying detail regarding the victim or the family has been published.
The delay reported by police sources is the central concern in a case of this nature. Investigators and child protection specialists consistently identify the earliest period after registration as decisive, for two reasons. Nominated suspects who remain at liberty may leave the jurisdiction, and — more seriously in cases involving a child complainant — they may be positioned to exert pressure on the victim’s family to withdraw or compromise.
Medico-legal examination is similarly time-sensitive. Punjab operates designated medico-legal facilities for the examination of survivors, and the evidentiary value of that examination diminishes with delay.
Pakistan substantially strengthened its statutory protections for children in the years following a series of high-profile cases. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2016 introduced a distinct offence of sexual abuse of a child into the Pakistan Penal Code, while the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020 established a dedicated response mechanism for missing and abducted children.
The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act, 2021 further provided for special courts, timelines for the conclusion of trials, protection of the identity of victims and the constitution of specialised investigation units. Under that framework, cases involving child victims are to be handled with priority.
Punjab additionally maintains the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, which operates a helpline (1121) and provides shelter, legal and psychological support services to child victims.
The persistent difficulty in Punjab has not been the absence of law but the distance between statute and practice. Case data compiled by child rights organisations over successive years has consistently shown high rates of registration relative to low rates of conviction, with delay in arrest, weak evidence collection and out-of-court compromise identified as the principal points of failure.
Green Town falls under the Lahore City police jurisdiction. The Lahore Times sought the position of the district police leadership on the delay in arrests; a response had not been received at the time of filing.
If you or a child you know needs help, the Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Bureau helpline can be reached at 1121, and Police Emergency at 15.
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