The body of a five-year-old girl was recovered from the Pati Kalay area of Takht-i-Bhai in Mardan on Wednesday, DawnNewsTV reported.

According to District Police Officer (DPO) Wahid Mehmood, the girl was reported missing by her father yesterday, following which a complaint had been registered.

The child's body was found today, not far away from the family's residence.

According to the deceased's family, torture marks were found on the child's body. However, DPO Mehmood told DawnNewsTV that whether or not the child was raped could only be ascertained after a medical examination.

The body has been shifted to the Mardan Medical Complex.

A first information report has not been registered as yet.

Research has shown that thousands of child abuse incidents take place in Pakistan every year. The menace used to be under-reported but that changed with the brutal rape and murder of Zainab Ansari in Kasur earlier this year.

The six-year-old child's death became a watershed moment and forced the law enforcement authorities as well as the media to pay more attention to cases of violence against children.