A protest erupted in Karachi's Saddar area on Friday night after a 10-year-old boy went missing from the area, eyewitnesses and officials said, as the country remains on edge after the emergence of a spate of child sexual abuse and murder cases.

Residents of Burns Road, a street popularly known as Karachi's food street, took to the street in large numbers to protest the child's disappearance. They blocked the road and resorted to burning tyres, causing suspension of traffic and closure of eateries in the neighbourhood, police said.

Contingents of police and Rangers rushed to the site to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. They tried to assure residents of the area that efforts were being made to find the child.

Saddar Superintendent Police (SP) Tauqeer Mohammed Naeem told Dawn that the minor boy had gone to study at a seminary in the area around 11am and has not returned home since.

The parents lodged a report about the missing child at Aram Bagh police station in the evening and police are investigating the case, he added.

Taking notice of media reports about the child's disappearance, Sindh Inspector General of Police A.D. Khowaja directed DIG South to submit a detailed report about the steps taken in connection with the incident, a press release said.

The latest incident comes in the wake of widespread outrage and demonstrations across the country protesting against the rape and murder of 6-year-old Zainab Amin in Kasur, whose body was recovered from a trash heap in the city earlier this week.