LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities on Wednesday arrested a suspect in the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl that ignited nationwide protests and outrage over allegations of government inaction, two police officials said. Police found Zainab Ansari's body in a garbage dumpster in Kasur district near the eastern city of Lahore last week, four days after she was reported missing.Residents of the area have said the murder was the 12th such incident in a year, and has fuelled fears a serial rapist-killer might be on the loose.Two people were killed in Kasur last week when police fired at hundreds of angry protesters, who said negligence on the part of the authorities was behind the repeated killings.The two police officers told Reuters the authorities had arrested a man who was being treated as a prime suspect, after police had questioned dozens of people in the case."Evidence we're getting leads us to believe that he is the man," said one officer, who declined to be identified … [Read more...] about Pakistan police arrest suspect in rape and murder of 7-year-old girl
Pakistan
8-year-old girl killed in Pakistan may been victim of serial killer
LAHORE, PAKISTAN—A serial killer may have been behind the rape and murder of young girl in Pakistan whose killing sparked deadly clashes between protesters and police, an official said Saturday.Rana Sanaullah, the home minister for Punjab province, said DNA testing has linked the killing to at least five other cases of child abuse and murder in the city of Kasur. Police have detained eight suspects, including two relatives of the girl.Eight-year-old Zainab Ansari went missing last week while heading to a nearby home for Quranic studies. The discovery of her body, which was found in a garbage bin Tuesday, ignited clashes between residents and police that killed two people and wounded three others.The residents say the authorities were slow to respond to the girl’s disappearance, charges denied by police.The city appeared calm but tense on Saturday after three days of clashes. Businesses reopened, but police and paramilitary troops were still out in force and guarding … [Read more...] about 8-year-old girl killed in Pakistan may been victim of serial killer
Outrage over rape, murder of 8-year-old girl in Pakistan prompts clashes that leave 2 dead
LAHORE, PAKISTAN—A mob angered over the recent rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl attacked a police station and a nearby government building in eastern Punjab province on Wednesday, triggering clashes that left at least two people dead and several injured, the police said.The violence erupted in the city of Kasur hours before the funeral of Zainab Ansari, whose case has drawn wide public outrage.The girl went missing last week while going to a nearby home for Quranic studies. Her parents, who were away at a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time, returned on Wednesday, landing at the Islamabad airport.“We will not bury our daughter until her killers are arrested,” said the father, Ameen Ansari, as his wife sobbed.Zainab’s body was found on Tuesday in a garbage bin, senior police officer Imran Nawaz Khan said. Police say she was abducted, raped and murdered. Officer Maqsood Ahmed said six girls were sexually assaulted in recent months in Kasur and that police … [Read more...] about Outrage over rape, murder of 8-year-old girl in Pakistan prompts clashes that leave 2 dead
Trump’s tweets no help to Pakistan
Pakistan has now joined the ranks of countries hit by one of US President Donald Trump's characteristic tweet storms. In his first tweet of 2018, Mr Trump declared that the United States has "foolishly" given Pakistan more than US$33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, while Pakistan had returned only "lies and deceit" and given safe haven to the terrorists America hunts in Afghanistan. "No more!" Mr Trump concluded. And now the US is freezing its aid to the country. Like his sabre-rattling toward North Korea or his unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Mr Trump's attacks on Pakistan may play well with his base. But it will also have serious repercussions for Pakistan, where a number of shocks in the second half of 2017 have destabilised the country politically. And if Pakistan stumbles, the consequences will be felt across South Asia and in other parts of the Muslim world, where a functioning political system in Pakistan could serve as a valuable … [Read more...] about Trump’s tweets no help to Pakistan
What we know about the Haqqani network, mentioned by Donald Trump as he suspends aid to Pakistan
When the Trump administration announced this week it was suspending military aid to Pakistan until the country takes more aggressive action against terrorist organizations that have targeted Americans, one of the groups it named was the Haqqani network.Compared to other extremist groups, it is unfamiliar to many people in North America.So who is Haqqani? What is the network? And what are its links to Pakistan?Jalaluddin Haqqani was an Afghan warlord and a leader of the insurgency against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, when he formed his Sunni Islamist militant organization, which the U.S. government did not designate as a foreign terrorist organization until 2012.Today the group is based primarily in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan, from which it conducts cross-border operations into eastern Afghanistan and Kabul, according to a counterterrorism guide published by the U.S. government’s National Counterterrorism Center. The Haqqani network kidnapped Canadian … [Read more...] about What we know about the Haqqani network, mentioned by Donald Trump as he suspends aid to Pakistan