A group of men attempted to rape an anti-polio campaign worker in Punjab's Muzaffargarh district, police said on Saturday.

Wasim Gopang, police spokesman in Muzaffargarh, said the woman alleged that four men dragged her into a room, stripped her lower dress off, took pictures of her and attempted to rape her but her screaming attracted others and the suspects got away.

The incident happened on Friday when the woman was working in a home during the anti-polio drive.

Gopang said the men were later identified but were not detained. A local court granted them interim bail but investigators were trying to have their bails cancelled.

Since the start of 2018, there has been a marked upsurge in the reporting of sexual abuse cases across Pakistan. The brutal rape and murder of Zainab Ansari in Kasur earlier this month in particular shocked the entire country, with #JusticeforZainab becoming the rallying cry in a nationwide drive to end violence against children.