An eight-year old girl was allegedly subjected to sexual assault in the Labour Square neighbourhood of Karachi's Landhi area on Friday, according to Sukhan police and hospital officials.

Sukhan Station House Officer (SHO) Javed Ahmed Jalbani told Dawn that the girl had gone to a neighbour’s home to play. There were no adults present at the house at the time since the friend's mother was at work.

The SHO said there was a knock on the door, to which the victim responded. The assailant was said to have barged in, locked the door from inside and subjected the girl to sexual assault before fleeing the scene.

The officer added that the victim's mother works at a factory in the area, while her father is currently in Punjab.

The police detained the landlord of the home where the incident occurred for questioning.

The girl, meanwhile, was taken to the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre where a medico-legal examination was conducted.

The hospital's Executive Director, Dr. Seemin Jamali, confirmed that the victim was subjected to rape.

The girl was later shifted to the National Institute Of Child Health for further treatment.

A first-information report (FIR) of the incident has yet to be registered.

Cases of sexual assault against minors have come under greater scrutiny in the country following the rape and murder of six-year-old Zainab Amin in Kasur, whose body was recovered from a trash heap in the city on January 9.

The news shocked the entire country with #JusticeforZainab becoming a rallying cry for catching and punishing perpetrators of such heinous crimes.