Displaced by floods, homeless girl kidnapped, gang-raped in Karachi’s Clifton

E-Paper | July 12, 2026

KARACHI: A 10-year-old homeless girl, whose family came to the metropolis from their hometown in Shikarpur in the aftermath of the floods, was kidnapped and gang-raped in Clifton, police said on Monday.

The incident prompted Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to take notice of it after which the Karachi police chief constituted a special committee to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.

South-SSP Syed Asad Raza said that the police registered a case on the complaint of the victim’s widowed mother.

The police said that she and her mother lived on a footpath near the Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine in Clifton.

CM orders police to bring culprits to justice

Quoting victim mother’s statement to the police, the SSP said that she originally hailed from district Shikarpur and due to recent floods she along with her six children had come to Karachi and was trying to make ends meet. She lived on a footpath in Shah Rasool Colony and fed herself and family from the food distributed at the Ghazi’s shrine.

Narrating her ordeal, she told police that on Sunday morning, at around 11:12am, her daughter went to a Clifton shopping mall for begging. When she came back at around 2pm, her shalwar was stained with blood. On being asked, the girl told her mother that two men forcibly took her to an unknown place in their car and subjected her to a criminal assault. Later, they left her at the same place from where they abducted her and escaped.

Later, she was brought to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn that about nine- to 10-year-old girl was brought to the JPMC emergency in a serious condition at 6:30pm on Sunday. The girl was moved to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), where she was examined by a woman medico-legal officer.

“The examination revealed violent rape along with physical injuries,” the police surgeon said, adding: “Swab samples and clothes have been sealed for serology and DNA matching.”

The police said that the victim girl was still under treatment at the health facility.

The Boat Basin police registered a case against unidentified persons under Sections 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of fourteen), 376 (punishment for rape) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s mother.

Police told to take family into ‘protective care’

Taking notice of the rape, the CM directed the police to arrest the culprits forthwith.

He also directed Women Development Minister Shahla Raza to take the entire family into protective care.

“This is totally unacceptable and cannot be forgiven. I want the culprits behind bars immediately,” he told Karachi police chief Javed Odho over the phone.

The CM was informed that a police team had been formed to arrest the culprits.

The chief minister directed the city police chief to check the CCTV footage, identify suspects’ vehicle and arrest them.

The CM was informed that the family was kept at a women police station under protective care.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2022

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Imtiaz Ali is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 25 years of experience in the field. His reporting portfolio encompasses crime, politics, and the provincial legislature, alongside coverage of the courts, government affairs, and the health sector.

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M. Emad

Oct 25, 2022 11:59am

Millions of Pakistani Flood victims now living under open sky.

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Sharjeel Syed

Oct 25, 2022 12:01pm

and nothing will happen to the culprits. Generally its some feudal kids moving in big cars in DHA and clifton area looking for prey.

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Naim

Oct 25, 2022 02:53pm

This can happen only in the land of pure. Noting will happen as people go about doing their business and read this news just as a news!!!

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 03:27pm

Alas! it is irony of fate even more than that our all segments of society are becoming hearless and selfish feel extremely indifferent for what happening around us, indeed showcasing themselves barbaric and uncivilized in all manners It is very easy to express regrets and mourn over someone's life's annihilation and issuing some sorrowful statements condemning such heinous crimes like a rape, robbery murder,snatching and other countless perpetrations without any substantive actions, an homeless

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 03:37pm

9 years old displaced girl hailing from home town Shikarpur is kidnapped in the day light before the hundreds of people from an area where one can find a rush of lot of people and strict security and victimized of a brutal gang-rape in the posh area of Clifton. As usual, orders are made to bring culprits to the justice. Where was our police, and other administrative machinery responsible for the mentenance of law and order and safeguard the lives of ecery citizens, bound by laws and under

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 03:43pm

obligations to provide security as the Article 9 of the constitution of Pakistan categorically states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty that encompasses overall security. As ill lick would have it, we are being a citizen whether civilian or belonging any organization do remember our rights , however, forget or try to be oblivious of our responsibilities. It can happens with everyone, everywhere, we don't feel we have got espcial immunity. If there had been requisite performance

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 03:51pm

of personnel appointed for security purpose, and we the responsible citizen should have played our due role, and so-called security plans devised and in place had been working, not only this monstrous atrocity would have been caught , but there might be many such crimes could have been avoided. If we talk about the safe city proposition and multifarious use of technologies to minimize crime and eventually contrl them ensuring peace, where are CCTV cameras, petroling of security personnels and

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 03:58pm

Undeniably, it is the legal obligation of the state to take steps for ensuring the protection of its citizens and thereof our constitution is replete with fundamental rights and principles of policies but devoid of exemplary accountability, the main reason of all evils. Powerful is escaped and poor is caught. In these days, we have been witnessing a number of seminars, moots, symposiums and unending intellectual talk shows especially with regards to the fundamental rights, human rights, gender

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 04:04pm

discrimination, law and order situation, environmental friendly circumstances and political stability etc, but culminating in the long list of resolutions to address them to bring meaningful changes yielding prosperity and making sure promot and swift justice without any discrimination. As a matter of fact, we confront the basic issues of separation of powers and check and balances. Thus, our institutions are despite being capable are not producing desired results, in the instant case our

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Majid Burfat

Oct 25, 2022 04:10pm

our law enforcement institutions should use available resources and bring the responsible perpetrators to the justice irresponsible of any classifications, discrimination purely bases on justice on merit. If found any persons in this act belonging to administration must be taken to task. If there had not been recent reprival in a few famous cases whereby influncial people escaped and justice could not prevail due to one or another reason and intimidation undoubtedly has increased amonst common

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