Accessibility links

Breaking News

Rape, Murder of Young Girl Sparks Riots in Pakistan


At least one protester was killed when a riot broke out during a protest Tuesday in Pakistani city of Karachi in response to the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl.

Angry protestors accused police of negligence in the case.

District police chief Aamir Farooqi said the girl disappeared Sunday and her body was found Monday in western Karachi. He said the first forensics report indicated the girl may have been raped before being strangled.

More than a dozen people were reported injured during the protest, mostly police, who fired guns in the air and attacked protesters with batons.Two protesters sustained gunshot wounds, one of whom died.

Farooqi said police are investigating whose bullet caused that death.

The riots occurred months after another six-year-old was raped and killed in the city of Kasur, triggering nationwide outrage and debate over how Pakistan fails to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

A Pakistani court imposed four death sentences on the man who was charged with the killing.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG