Daily Times

Sir: The grizzly reports about the rape and murder of seven year old Zainab in Kasur have shocked the nation. Riots have broken out in the district as people look for ways to vent the rage and grief the incident has filled them with. But why are we so shocked? After all, the Kasur pedophile and child pornography ring was in the headlines for several weeks in 2015. Just a few months ago, your esteemed newspaper, the Daily Times wrote an editorial that stated that sex crimes against children were happening with such frequency in the Kasur district that the provincial government was seeking the help of sociologists and psychologists to find out why this is happening. My heart is very saddened by Zainab’s death. But this is not the first time the children and parents of Kasur have faced this horror. It must be said that we failed Zainab in 2015 by letting the Kasur child sex ring fade from Pakistan’s collective memory. It is time now to say ‘never again’ and create a comprehensive plan to counter sexual abuse and sex crimes in this country, similar to the National Action Plan (NAP) to fight terrorism, however, it would be nice if this time the plan was actually implemented. On a final note, I must call out Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah for stating that the safety of children is the responsibility of the parents. It was a highly insensitive and callous remark, aimed at petty political damage control. Shame on him.

MURTAZA HASSAN

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, January 11^th 2018.