KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced a school van driver to 14 years in prison for sexually abusing a seven-year-old minor girl.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Mirza Tauseef Ahmed, who is also presiding officer of Gender Based Violence Court (Central), found Owais Khan — a school van driver — guilty for offence under Section 377-B (sexual abuse punishment) and sentenced him to 14-year in prison along with a fine of Rs1 million.

“The children are otherwise weak segment of our society and thus, they have to be protected in accordance with law against all the evil acts and the culprits are to be given exemplary punishment so that the children may feel themselves saved,” the judge observed.

“It is fact that minor is of tender age and act of sexual abuse, is such which has its own repercussions on the person going through it, be it a major person and whereas, in this case, the offence, has been allegedly, committed with a minor and severity of the effects, should be more which has been confirmed by the psychiatrist who held sessions with her and has found that the minor goes into trauma and anxiety if enquired about the incident. Thus, the prosecution has fully proved that victim is not capable of giving evidence and thus, the statement of the victim is relevant and admissible,” the court noted.

According to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, the accused was a school van driver who used to pick and drop the girl. However, in 2023, the girl’s mother noticed changes in her behaviour as she had stopped talking and eating properly.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025