ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan’s government hanged a man on Wednesday for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl.
Imran Ali, 24, who was arrested after Zainab Ansari’s body was found in a garbage dump in Kasur, more than 50 km away from Lahore, was executed in Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore, at 5.30 a.m.
Officials handed over Ali’s body to his family for the last rites to be performed in Kasur.
Speaking to the local media soon after the execution, Zainab’s father, Amin Ansari, told Arab News: “Justice is served. I am satisfied … We are relieved today that the criminal has finally met his fate. The whole family is devastated. We miss our daughter … We can’t believe, even today, that she is no longer with us.”
The murder that shook the nation began on Jan. 4, when Zainab left her house for Qur’an studies at a madrassa nearby. Her parents were away in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, leaving her under the supervision of her aunt.
Unable to trace her whereabouts, Zainab’s uncle lodged a complaint with the police about his missing niece the next day. Four days later, on Jan. 9, Zainab’s body was recovered from a dumping ground.
The gruesome rape and murder led to nationwide protests, with people taking to social media to express outrage over the incident. It resulted in #JusticeForZainab becoming one of the top trends on Twitter at the time. Riots also broke out in the Kasur district after Zainab’s battered body was recovered, with people urging law enforcement agencies to bring the culprit to book.
Then Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe and resolve the case. “I will not rest until justice has been served to the affected family,” he said at the time.
The high-profile nature of the case brought several law enforcement agencies together; and amid pressure from civil society groups and the media, police were able to arrest Ali two weeks after the incident.
They had relied on CCTV footage that showed Zainab walking with Ali in a neighborhood alleyway. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) was called upon to identify the suspect based on a sketch, but failed to deliver any leads. Using the DNA tests of 1,150 men between the ages of 20 and 45 who matched the suspect’s age and were living within 2 km of Zainab’s house, the JIT finally zeroed in on Ali.
Ali had already been detained by the police in the initial stages of the case, but was released after Zainab’s family had intervened, reasoning that he was someone they knew and trusted. He further cemented their conviction by joining the team leading the search for Zainab.
Following his arrest, investigators conducted two other tests on Ali before confirming his involvement in Zainab’s rape and murder and those of four other girls from the same locality.
With all his appeals for clemency rejected by the superior courts and the president, Ali was finally convicted in February this year after a four-day trial.
Zainab’s father, who was present at the jail to witness Ali’s execution, said: “He didn’t look remorseful or ask for forgiveness. Perhaps he was aware of the gravity of the crime he had committed.”
Ansari had appealed to the Lahore High Court to publicly hang Ali as a lesson to others, but his request was denied. “Zainab cannot come back, but we hope that her killer’s execution will serve as a strong deterrent in the society,” he said.
Zainab’s murder was one among 12 to take place in Kasur since last year.
In 2015, a gang of pedophiles was arrested following allegations that it was responsible for abducting and sexually assaulting more than 280 children in the area.
Murderer, rapist of six-year-old girl hanged in Pakistan
Murderer, rapist of six-year-old girl hanged in Pakistan
- Imran Ali was convicted of raping and killing Zainab Ansari in Kasur, near Lahore
- The girl's parents were in Saudi Arabia for Umrah at the time of the horrific crime
Bangladesh’s Gen-Z party faces revolt over alliance with religious party, risking its future
- At least 30 senior leaders of the National Citizen Party have openly opposed its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami
- Before the deal, opinion polls predicted Jamaat finishing a close second behind Bangladesh Nationalist Party
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi youth-driven party born out of the country’s 2024 uprising is facing an open revolt from within after sealing an election alliance with a religious group, a move analysts say could jeopardize its future and reinforce established parties.
At least 30 senior leaders of the National Citizen Party (NCP) have openly opposed its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, announced on Sunday, with several resigning in protest.
The Muslim-majority South Asian nation goes to the polls on February 12.
Before the deal, opinion polls had predicted Jamaat finishing a close second behind the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, while the NCP lagged far behind in third place.
“The NCP presented itself as a youth-driven alternative to traditional power structures. That identity is now under serious strain,” said H.M. Nazmul Alam, an academic.
“Youth-based movements do not collapse only because they lose elections. They collapse when they lose clarity and internal unity.”
’ALLIANCE FOR GREATER UNITY’
The NCP was formed earlier this year by leaders of the protests that ousted long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, 2024, forcing her to flee to India. Driven by Gen-Z activists born after the late 1990s, it says it aims to free the nation from decades of nepotism and the dominance of Hasina’s Awami League and the BNP.
With the Awami League banned, the vote will be effectively a direct contest between the BNP and Jamaat, which has trailed the other two in the past and had not been allowed to contest any elections since 2013 after a court said its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.
An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus revoked all the restrictions on Jamaat in August 2024.
The NCP’s struggle shows the challenges of turning street power into votes and holds lessons for neighboring Nepal, where similar youth-led protests ousted the government this year and fresh elections are due in March, political analysts have said.
NCP chief Nahid Islam told a press conference late on Sunday that the recent killing of 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in the uprising, forced his party to seek an alliance to keep at bay forces trying to derail the election through violence.
“The dictatorship we overthrew is attempting to sabotage the election. Therefore, for the sake of greater unity, we have reached an electoral understanding with Jamaat,” said Nahid, 27.
“This was a majority decision within the party, but some may be opposed to it and they are free to take their own decisions.”
Hadi was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier in December while launching his election campaign as an independent candidate. Police say they have identified the killers but have not apprehended them.
’YOUR CENTRIST IDEA AND IDEOLOGY WILL VANISH’
Nahid earlier told Reuters his organization was weak because it had not had enough time to build itself. It was also hampered by scarce funds and an unclear stance on key issues such as rights for women and minorities, Reuters reported in early December, citing party leaders who said alliance talks had been underway for some time.
One senior NCP leader to have resigned is Tasnim Jara, a doctor who left a career in Britain to join the party. She is now seeking the support of nearly 5,000 voters to be allowed to contest as an independent.
“I promised you and the people of this country that I would fight for you and for building a new political culture,” she said on Facebook. “Whatever the circumstances, I am determined to keep that promise.”
Political analyst Asif Shahan, a professor at the University of Dhaka, said the NCP was “doomed.”
“If you go with Jamaat, it will help Jamaat, not you,” he said. “It will give them a liberal cover, and in return, you will become a force for the right. Your centrist idea and ideology — already poorly defined — will simply vanish.”
