A man suspected of sexually assaulting and murdering a seven-year-old child in Khanpur, Haripur tehsil, was arrested by police on Friday.

According to Haripur police spokesperson Hassan Attaur Rehman, the victim was a resident of Marchabad area of Khanpur and was a student of the first grade. His body was found earlier this morning from a pile of trash in a nearby village Jhogya by locals, who then informed the police. The victim's body was sent to Khanpur Hospital for an autopsy, which confirmed that the child had been sexually abused and later strangled to death with a piece of cloth.

A first information report of the incident has been registered. The district police officer of Haripur will reveal more details in a press conference that will be held later today, Rehman added.

Child sexual abuse is highly prevalent both in the developing and the developed world. Last year, a report released by non-governmental organisation Sahil had said that around nine children in Pakistan face sexual abuse daily, even though there is a scarcity of credible data.

In order to curb violence against children in the country, the Senate in 2016 criminalised child sexual abuse, child pornography and trafficking. Earlier, only rape was criminalised. Despite the tightening of laws, a significant number of child abuse cases go unreported.

A Senate committee was informed in January this year that 300 cases of child sexual abuse were registered in Islamabad over the last five years, while another 260 cases went unregistered.