A 21-year-old girl was kidnapped and allegedly raped in Karachi's Gulshan-i-Hadeed area within the limits of Steel Town police, officials said on Thursday.

SSP Investigation (Malir) Abid Husain Qaimkhani said the girl along with her family members was standing near a park in Phase-II of Gulshan-i-Hadeed on Wednesday at around 7:30pm when three suspects travelling in a car abducted her.

According to the complaint filed by the victim's father, one of the suspects who he claimed is a neighbour raped the girl and the men later abandoned her near her residence in Hadeed.

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The Steel Town police early on Thursday registered a first information report (161/2018) under Sections 367-A (kidnapping for purpose of subjecting victim to natural lust), 367-B (punishment for gang-rape) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and arrested two suspects nominated in the complaint. Efforts were underway to arrest the third suspect, police said.

SSP Qaimkhani said the girl’s medical examination was carried out at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where doctors confirmed that she was raped.

The police also seized the car used during the incident.

Since the beginning 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 year in particular shocked the entire country, with #JusticeforZainab becoming the rallying cry in a nationwide drive to end violence against children.