An 11-year-old girl was found raped and murdered in Karachi’s Saddar area on Sunday, police and hospital officials said.

According to police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed, the girl’s body, which was found in a bag, was taken by Saddar police to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medical examination.

“The initial findings of the autopsy indicate sexual violence,” said the surgeon.

She added that all swabs and samples had been collected for serological, DNA and intoxication tests.

“The cause of death is being kept secret pending reports,” Dr Syed added.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza said a passerby informed police about the girl’s body near a parking lot.

He said the girl was a victim of sexual assault, adding that she looked “like a destitute girl.”

DIG Raza said over half a dozen suspects were taken into custody for questioning.

He said he had set up a special team led by Police Commissioner Majida Halepoto to investigate the case.

Prime Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah also took note of the incident.

“I am extremely saddened that such incidents are occurring in our society,” Murad complained, ordering a thorough investigation into the case to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon informed the chief minister that the girl’s body, kept in a bag, was found at a garbage dump near Lucky Star, said a statement by the chief minister’s spokesman Abdul Rasheed Channa.

The CM directed the police to take strict action against the suspects who committed injustice against children, women, elderly people and vulnerable sections of the society, the spokesman added.

Murad also asked IG Memon to inform all police stations in Sindh province about the government’s policies towards vulnerable groups.

Despite existing laws, sexual crimes against children continue to occur throughout the country.

Data released in March this year by Sahil – an NGO working for the welfare of children – showed that a total of 4,213 cases of child abuse were reported in 2023 from all four provinces as well as the National Capital Territory of Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

A gender-disaggregated analysis of the data revealed that of the total reported cases, 2,251 (53 percent) of the victims were girls and 1,962 (47 percent) were boys. The age reported showed that children in the age group of 6 to 15 years were most vulnerable to abuse, as more cases were reported from boys than girls in this age group.

In addition, children aged 0 to 5 years were also sexually abused. The perpetrator category revealed that acquaintances, along with relatives, family members, strangers and female accomplices, were still most frequently involved in the sexual abuse of children.