July 8, 2026
by Amir Taqvi
CHUNIAN:
In a haunting video that surfaced, a man can be seen leading a 15-year-old girl, Nazia* inside a hospital. The child, is a resident of Zaheerabad tehsil in Chunian, a city in district Kasur. Nazia is a domestic worker employed in one of the homes in the area, and with the money earned she supported her ailing mother.
The incident recorded on the hosptal’s CCTV took place on June 28, when Nazia went out to the market to get some household supplies. Reportedly, a man named Nadeem, lured her and trapped her, taking her to an unknown location, where he forced himself on her and raped her. However the family claims it was a gang rape and some others were also involved.
“Nadeem had four or five other men along with him, who raped her,” says Fatima Bibi, her voice trembling as she recalls the incident. “And when her condition began to deteriorate, they left her at a private hospital. She is in a terrible state even today.”
Upon receiving information about the incident, Fatima Bibi rushed to the hospital at once and also informed police at 15. The city police station registered a case against three people including the main accused Nadeem. One of the accused has been arrested while special teams have been formed to trace and arrest Nadeem. Police says that raids are being carried out at various places.
Police says that the medical examination of the rape survivor has been completed and the initial medical report has confirmed evidence of rape, while forensic samples have been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) for analysis. The investigation will be taken forward after receiving the final report.
Meanwhile, human rights organizations have expressed concern over the increasing incidents of sexual crimes across Punjab, and have demanded that immediate and effective action be taken against those involved in such cases as per the law so that such crimes can be prevented in the future.
“It is not the first time such incidents have taken place in Kasur,” says human rights lawyer Advocate Muhammad Tariq Chughtai. “However until strict action is not taken against the perpetrators, these crimes will never stop.”
The incidence of child sexual abuse according to Sahil’s “Cruel Numbers” 2025 report is serious and numbers do not seem to be decreasing. Around 3,630 child abuse cases were reported across Pakistan in 2025, an 8% increase over 2024 — 266 more cases than the prior year, working out to more than nine children abused daily. Girls accounted for 1,924 cases (53%), boys 1,625 (47%), and 116 cases involved newborns.
Punjab accounted for 73% of reported cases, it is said, possibly because the reporting mechanisms in the province are better and more accessible to the public than in the other provinces. However, incidents of sexual violence on the whole continue to rise.
National figures in the same report reveal that abduction was the most common category at 1,107 cases, followed by sodomy (596) and rape (522); also 365 missing children, 195 attempted rape, 141 attempted sodomy, 130 gang sodomy, 108 gang rape, 58 murders following sexual abuse, and 53 child marriages.