HAFIZABAD: Police in Punjab’s Hafizabad district said on Saturday they had arrested one of the suspects in the alleged kidnapping and rape of a 13-year-old girl.
According to police, the arrested man was named in a first information report registered by Jalalpur Bhattian police on April 30 on the complaint of the girl’s mother. The FIR also named two unidentified suspects.
Police said the suspect was arrested in Tahli Goraya village. They added that the girl’s medical examination confirmed sexual assault.
The case was registered under Sections 375-A and 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code. Police said raids were being carried out to trace and arrest the remaining suspects.
The incident comes amid continuing concern over violence against women and children in Pakistan. A 2024 report by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation said 5,339 rape cases and 24,439 kidnapping or abduction cases were reported across the country that year, with Punjab recording the highest number of gender-based violence cases.
