Khyber PakhtunkhwaNEWS

Tragedy in Haripur: Demand for justice grows as community mourns 5 year old Ayat Noor

After a agonizing 14-day search, five-year-old Ayat Noor was found dead inside a dry well in Haripur. Traced using extensive CCTV and technical data, four neighborhood suspects—including minors—have been arrested in connection with her kidnapping, assault, and murder. As thousands gather to grieve and local businesses mark a day of mourning, the public is calling for swift, unyielding justice to hold every perpetrator accountable.

17 Min Read

August 25, 2026

By Xari Jalil

LAHORE

The grief-stricken family of five-year-old Ayat Noor was handed her body on Tuesday, August 25, following a post-mortem examination—bringing a heartbreaking end to a two-week search that had gripped Haripur. Just days earlier, her father had appeared in a moving video appeal, pleading through tears for the safe return of his little girl.

 

Ayat had stepped outside her home in Pathan Colony to play in the evening on August 10. She never returned. For 14 long days, her family held onto hope as community members and police searched the area, until interrogations led investigators to a deserted plot on University Road. There, inside a deep, dry well, they discovered the young girl’s body bound, gagged, and sealed inside a sack.

Following the post-mortem examination, her father took his daughter home one last time. Hundreds of mourners gathered at Khad Ground for her funeral prayers, where the funeral procession was carried out in a heavy silence as an entire community grieved the horrific loss of such a young life.

From #zainab to #kulsoom to #aizal to #ayat , the trauma is never ending. To say, that the culprits are animals is not apt. They are beasts.

But even before the girl was found on Monday, the area people had already been showing their anger, staging protests and blocking roads, demanding her safe recovery. A few days ago, the protesters had blocked the Karakoram Highway for around six hours and had called for all the suspects to be arrested and for the girl to be recovered. The road was reopened only after police officials promised the community they needed two more days to address the matter.

 

Hundreds of people attended the funeral

Meanwhile the Haripur District Bar has also announced a day of mourning following Ayat’s death.

“The police had already traced the suspects through CCTV, but the discovery of what happened was confusing,” journalist Meher Seemab told Voicepk. “The girl was led by three boys to an unknown location. The traced and arrested the boys who happened to be all minors. Under interrogation, they told the police they had raped the girl and left her at the location when she had fainted. However when they police went to that location, they saw the girl was missing. Upon a second trace, the police discovered that the girl had been abducted once again by a separate culprit and again subjected to rape. This suspect was also arrested by the police and said that he had dumped the girl in a well in a warehouse, near University Road.”

Shockingly he said the boys are all minors and are aged between 13 to 16 years.

“Because of the girl being missing, and the number of perpetrators involved, the case has become extremely high profile, also pointing out the pervasive violence even among youth, which is a serious cause for concern,” he added. “Another thing is that the girl was quite a social child. She would often be sitting outside her house, playing, and would follow adults who would give her treats, or play with her. Not all of these people were to blame for this, but the boys who did this to her were also part of the neighbourhood where she lived.”

Four arrested for rape, murder and dumping of body 

On Tuesday afternoon, the police held a press conference led by the District Police Officer (DPO) of Haripur, Shafiullah Gandapur, along with a Special Investigation Team (SIT). 

In his press conference the DPO explained how the police traced the suspects using a digital footprint. He said four individuals including Usman son of Luqman, resident of Model Town, Qasim son of Nisar Ahmed and Talha son of Farid, resident of Kangra, were arrested while the motorcycle used in the incident was also recovered.The fourth accused involved in the incident, Hassan Khan son of Saduzai, resident of Pathan Colony, was also traced and arrested later. Interrogations are still being carried out.

Usman has already confessed the to kidnapping and rape of Ayat Noor, which was recorded by the judge in court, said the police.

The two other accused Qasim and Talha were presented in court for 10 days of physical remand. The judge ordered Talha to be admitted to the Central Jail Haripur on judicial remand, while Qasim was given a two-day physical remand to the police.

“With utmost sorrow and sadness, we announce this press conference for the painful incident of Ayat Noor, who was my child, and the child of the entire police force ,” he said. “Any incident of the disappearance or kidnapping of a child is not just a cause of sorrow for a single family, but rather for the entire society.”

The DPO detailed that Ayat Noor’s father Shafique, a poor bakery worker, had filed the missing report of his daughter, on August 10, and police had registered a case under Sections 361 (kidnapping/abduction) and 364A (kidnapping of minor under 14 years) of the PPC while an investigation and search was started at once.

“Considering the sensitivity of the incident, a special investigation team was formed, in which senior police officers SSP Investigation Haripur, DSP City, DSP Headquarters/Investigation, SHOs City, TIP, Khanpur In-charge Investigation Police Station City and TIP, in addition to the first-time special police officers including SP Security Hazara Region, ISICT, In-charge Complaint Cell, and other investigation officers were included,” said the DPO. 

“The team collected CCTV footage, call data records (CDR), geo-fencing while an IT team was formed consisting of officers from each department, in order to gather other technical evidence. During the investigation, 200 CCTV records were obtained and footage was  analyzed. Records of 20 suspicious numbers related to the investigation were obtained and analyzed.”

The DPO said that footage had been collected from 12 cameras from where the investigation progressed. They said that the girl was lured out of the house and taken away. The accused were identified on foot and on a motorcycle. 

Community helps in search for missing girl

The police said that the scope of the investigation, technical evidence and search operations were expanded to find the girl. They said that more than 400 police officers as well as young people from the area, and the staff of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and WASA who were divided into different teams and conducted searches in the area. 

Senior police officers also dragged drains, gutters, thick grass areas, especially around the University of Haripur, fertilizer factory grounds, adjacent areas of Pathan Colony, empty plots, and other deserted places from the day of the incident until the recovery.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zulfiqar Hameed took notice of the incident and reviewed the investigation. DIG Hazara Nasir Mahmood Satti also visited Haripur.

DPO Haripur gave a detailed presentation to DIG Hazara on the investigation conducted, CCTV footage obtained and statements of the accused. The police seniors met with Ayat Noor’s father and other family members and assured them of justice through proper investigation.

“We faced a challenge while arresting two of the accused because they were juveniles,” said Hasan Ali, Police PRO of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, while speaking to Voicepk. “Also there was no direct SIM registration due to an absence of CNIC, so the records of their families and other suspicious numbers were obtained and their technical analysis was done by the IT team.”

Hasan Ali told Voicepk that the men all belonged to the same neighbourhood as the little girl and had lured her away. There were videos which proved this and on the identification of the person in the CCTV footage, the arrests took place. Afterwards, during interrogation in physical remand, and on the indication of the accused, an extremely deep, dry and grassy well was discovered in an empty plot on University Road near Warehouse on Link Road, where the body of innocent girl Ayat Noor was recovered with the help of Rescue 1122, under the supervision of the DPO and the SIT team. 

Ayat Noor’s body was later shifted to the Haripur Trauma Center of Rescue 1122, where senior doctors completed the postmortem process and X-rays, DNA, kidney, intestine and all physical samples were obtained and sent for analysis. 

Interview of Ayat’s parents – Video courtesy Tanweer Awan on X

The Haripur Police recognized the efforts made by the citizens, including the business community, religious leaders, media representatives, local dignitaries and other civil society. 

During the conference, the DPO Haripur requested the citizens to ensure that the CCTV cameras of their areas were functional and to keep the DVRs safe so that in the event of such a heinous crime, evidence is available to bring the accused to justice.

FIR details

According to the details in the FIR (361/26), a case was registered on August 12, in the TIP police station in Haripur of a missing child. Thirty seven year old Muhammad Shafique s/o Kala Khan said that his five year old daughter Ayat Noor was missing from near their house in Pathan Colony. Police registered the report two days later on August 12. 

Muhammad Shafique reported on August 10 that he works at a bakery in Khalabat area. He said that the same day, near Maghrib time (dusk), when he returned home as per routine, his wife informed him that their daughter, Ayat Noor (aged approximately 5 years), left the house around 5:30 PM to play in the street. She had been wearing a yellow shirt, and white trousers (shalwar), and blue plastic slippers (China chappal). Till late evening Ayat had not returned home. 

Shafique had said that he searched hard nearby across the neighborhood and surrounding areas, but could not trace her location. He also added that he had no enmity with anyone nor did he suspect anyone. He said he had come to file a report so that he could be provided with legal assistance.

The complainant stated that the delay in reporting occurred because he was personally searching for his daughter first. Initial inquiry suggested the matter required verification; thus, a copy of the report was sent under Section 157(1) CrPC to Beat Officer Ahmad Ali Shah (ASI) for preliminary inquiry.

Yet another tragic incident 

The tragic end to the search for Ayat Noor has highlighted a harrowing breakdown of child safety within local communities, but also emphasises that the issue of child sexual abuse happens not just in smaller communities but also in urban centres. The incident has exposed how vulnerability can be exploited by those living in plain sight.

The case and others like this, mean that the government must ensure swift judicial accountability. The judicial process must ensure a thorough, transparent trial where all four suspects face strict accountability under the law, regardless of local political pressure or the minor status of certain perpetrators.

Apart from this, neighborhoods must strengthen child protection standards—balancing open, friendly community spaces with heightened awareness, active supervision, and functional local security infrastructure like functional CCTV networks.

Law enforcement and social services must address youth violence and predatory behavior through early intervention, rapid response protocols for missing children, and institutional reform to prevent such tragedies from recurring.

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