Suspect arrested in Pakistan over rape and murder of Zainab Ansari

A man has been arrested in relation to the rape and murder of a girl, 7, in a case that has stirred outrage across Pakistan.

Zainab Ansari, 7, was assaulted and her body thrown on a rubbish heap last month.

The suspect, Mohammed Imran, was arrested near the city of Kasur, a government spokesman in Punjab province said yesterday.

Zainab’s death exposed a string of child abductions and murders in the city by a suspected serial predator.

It was not immediately clear if the suspect is linked to the deaths of eight other children.

Among the victims was Ayesha, 5, whose father, Mohammed Asif, said he pleaded with police to find her after her abduction last year.

“They had no interest. They were more interested in keeping it quiet,” he said.

Zainab’s rape and murder unleashed a wave of revulsion around Pakistan, generating outrage at a culture of silence surrounding sexual abuse.

It has led to a new Pakistani version of the #MeToo movement. Several prominent women have come forward with their own stories of sexual assault, saying they want to change traditions that consider abuse a mark of shame for the victim.

Those traditions, they say, help predators get away with abuse and encourage a corrupt police force to ignore such crimes.

Zainab’s father, Mohammed Amin, denounced police for failing to warn residents about a serial killer in the city.

“People don’t talk about sexual abuse,” he said.

It was only after the shock over Zainab that news emerged of other children abducted and raped in Kasur. Amid the uproar, police did tests on the victims and found the same DNA on eight of the children, all but one of whom was killed.