"We will not bury her until we get justice," said the father of an eight-year-old girl, who was raped and strangled in Pakistan.
Violence erupted in Pakistan on Wednesday after the body of the minor was found dumped in a garbage dumpster on January 9. Two civilians were killed and one was injured after officers fired live rounds to disperse crowds that gathered to voice their anger over the rape and murder of the minor.
Also Read: Child aged 2 accused of sexual offence and a 6-year-old accused of rape
Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the spokesman for Pakistan's Punjab province, told Reuters that protests turned violent after a mob attacked a police official.
"They started throwing stones at the office and some of the armed protesters shot bullets at police. In order to stop them, police resorted to aerial firing," Khan said.
However, locals said that the protests were peaceful but police responded by firing after students threw stones.
"A peaceful protest was taking place, some students threw stones and police responded by firing at the crowd," resident Saleem ur Rehman told Reuters. "The law and order situation here is really bad and there have been many such incidents. That is what the protest was about."
The minor had been staying with her aunt as her parents travelled to Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, she went out for Koran recital and never returned home, according to reports.
Police found her body lying in a dumpster and the post-mortem report says that she had been raped multiple times and strangled four or five days earlier. The CCTV footage from the nearby area shows the girl walking with a stranger outside her home.
The father of the victim has said that they will not bury her body till the time justice is served, while her mother cried for justice. "I want justice! I want justice!" the girl's mother told reporters at the international airport in Islamabad.
Regional police officer Zulfiqar Hameed said that they are investigating the case and till now, four people have been arrested and one killed during an arrest attempt.
"Investigations reveal that in each case a paedophile kidnaps little girls, rapes them and kills them," he told Reuters, adding, "We have got CCTV footage that shows a young man taking her along. We will catch him very soon."
Meanwhile, Pakistani celebrities and personalities have taken to Twitter demanding justice. From Mahira Khan to Pakistani activists Malala Yousafzai, several known personalities have tweeted with #JusticeForZainab hashtag.
Find him!!! Do what it takes to find him and make an example out of him for Gods sake !! An example which scares anyone to even think about doing something like this again. @pid_gov @GovtOfPunjab #JusticeForZainab https://t.co/t0GTUo9AjT
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) January 10, 2018
Heartbroken to hear about Zainab - a 7 year old child abused and brutally killed in Kasur, Pakistan. This has to stop. Gov and the concerned authorities must take action. #JusticeForZainab
— Malala (@Malala) January 10, 2018
Shaken to my core reading about Zainab. Rest in peace, sweet Angel. May God fill heaven with all your heart's delights ?? Zainab and countless other innocent children deserved protection. Action MUST be taken at government - and if not, international - level. #JusticeForZainab
— Amena (@amenaofficial) January 10, 2018
#JusticeForZainab 2 unarmed residents of Kasur shot dead by police. Their crime? They were protesting outside DPO office after 12 children have been raped and killed in Kasur in just one yr! https://t.co/fEgNexicta
— Hamza Ali Abbasi (@iamhamzaabbasi) January 10, 2018
When #Udaari was creating awareness abt child abuse PEMRA sent it a notice because members of our society complained that it was "immoral content". Why should children carry the burden of our morality which leaves them vulnerable & forces survivors into silence? #JusticeForZainab pic.twitter.com/BiA9u0jg4X
— M. Jibran Nasir (@MJibranNasir) January 11, 2018
Make way for open dialogue, especially when it's something that makes you afraid and uncomfortable. Not hush hush, brush it under the carpet. We need workshops in schools with teachers and parents present. Not 1, but regular awareness exercises.#JusticeForZainab https://t.co/BGg6x0QmsM
— Meesha Shafi (@itsmeeshashafi) January 11, 2018
This has been and will keep on happening if the criminals of this heinous crime are not caught and punished in public asap.Devastated to see what happened in Kusur with Zainab. #JusticeForZainab
— Imran Abbas (@ImranAbbas) January 10, 2018
I could not sleep last night coz I kept thinking about little zanab...Her images kept flashing before my eyes....#JusticeForZainab
— Veena Malik Khan (@iVeenaKhan) January 11, 2018
Insaniyat khatam hoti ja rahi hai.. a sad day indeed! #JusticeForZainab the day has come to an end but I wish & pray that the fight for justice doesn't end! We will not forget! Hang the perpetrators!!!
— MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) January 10, 2018
Find him, kill him, kill him again, kill him till no One in this country can dare to do this sort of thing!
My heart aches ?#JusticeForZainab @CMShehbaz— Farhan Saeed (@farhan_saeed) January 10, 2018
