ISLAMABAD: The family of a seven-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered in Sargodha district of Pakistan’s Punjab province this month, has demanded stern punishment for the perpetrators of the crime to serve a lesson to potential sexual offenders.
Muntaha Zahra was allegedly raped and murdered inside a grocery store building in Sargodha’s Block 8 area on June 22 after she had gone there to buy something, Pakistani media reported, citing officials.
Police discovered her body from upper floor of Hanif Kiryana Store and arrested four suspects, while one suspect who had managed to flee the scene was later killed in an encounter with police, according to the victim’s family.
Zahra’s uncle told Independent Urdu that his niece’s throat was cut and her clothes were torn when police discovered her body from the upper portion of the said store, calling for stern punishment for the perpetrators.
“They cannot be eliminated unless they are hanged in public,” Zahra’s uncle Muhammad Shahid said.
“They should be given such a scary punishment that the whole world watches and no one dares commit such an act again.”
The incident drew widespread anger in Pakistan and forced Sargodha authorities to seal the store after repeated attacks by enraged residents badly damaged the premises.
According to Sargodha police, samples of 18 people suspected of being involved in the rape and murder of the girl were sent to the forensic lab.
Superintendent of Police Muhammad Imran said they were interrogating the arrested suspects and “whoever had any role will be punished according to the law.”
Pakistan reported a total of 3,606 cases of child abduction and rape in 2025, according to a report by the non-governmental organization Sahil. Incidents of child rape were also reported in Faisalabad, Peshawar and Karachi last week.
Mirza Aslam Baig, a social activist in Sargodha, voiced alarm over the incidents of child rape.
“It is necessary to intimidate those who have such thoughts through legal action and special measures,” he told Independent Urdu.
“Therefore, the criminals involved in such cases should be given punishments like public hanging so that the children can be safe.”
