A SUSPECT has been apprehended, now it is time for justice to take its course.

The Kasur tragedy has shocked the nation, opened a necessary national dialogue on the terrible scourge of child sexual assault and perhaps helped pave a path to social and state reform.

The authorities in Punjab, including Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in a rather distasteful, triumphant news conference on Tuesday, have announced the arrest of a suspect in the case of sexual assault and murder of young Zainab Amin.

The suspect, Imran Ali, is also believed to be responsible for the assault and murder of other young children, and yesterday he was presented in an anti-terrorism court.

Investigators have an initial 14 days to assemble the evidence against the suspected killer.

DNA test results could be the irrefutable proof that connects him to the horrific crimes he is accused of having committed, but it is necessary that all aspects of the investigation be conducted professionally and with scrupulous adherence to the rules and laid-down procedure.

While the intense national scrutiny on the case is unlikely to fade entirely, too often poorly conducted investigations have allowed defendants to escape conviction, have a conviction overturned on appeal or the sentence reduced.

If Imran Ali is guilty of the grotesque crimes he is accused of, the law must take its course.

This newspaper has on principle opposed the death penalty in all instances and there is no rational reason to deviate from principles in this case.

Assaulting children and murdering them is a particularly shocking crime and there has rightly been a national uproar over what appears to be a serial killer who has destroyed a number of families.

Such threats to society do not deserve to be allowed their freedom, possibly forever if the rules allow it and the convict continues to be professionally assessed to be a threat.

What is troubling though is how many segments of society have demanded a public execution of the alleged serial killer.

A bloodlust appears to have overcome society, perhaps an indication of a public that does not feel safe and does not believe the state has the ability to regularly and consistently protect the people.

Justice as vengeance may satisfy the mediaeval instincts of some, but the state cannot become part of a spectacle of death before cheering crowds.

The right lesson to be drawn from this harrowing episode of assault and killing, even if it is drowned out by emotions, is for the state to examine the multiple failures that allow a serial killer to carry out his monstrous crimes undetected for long and for society to understand what steps need to be taken to better protect children from the threat of predators.

The Kasur tragedy can become a watershed moment, but there needs to be a comprehensive understanding of what went wrong and a determination to address the faults.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2018