Autopsy confirms Asma raped before murder in Mardan

PESHAWAR: Doctors have confirmed sexual assault and torture on four-year-old Asma who was killed by unidentified persons in the Jandarpar Gujjar Garhi area of Mardan.

According to the post-mortem report, wounds were found on different parts of Asma’s body and she was strangled. Her body was found four days ago from fields.

The four-year-old had gone missing while playing outside her house. She was laid to rest on Sunday.

But Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IGP Salahuddin Mehsud says rape could not be confirmed yet and the things would be clear only after receiving report from the forensic lab in Lahore. He, however, said she was strangled and claimed that the murderers would soon be arrested.

Two other girls were previously murdered in Mardan after sexual assault. One of them was six-year-old Shab Noor [daughter of Latif Khan], killed in Lund Khwar on August 22, 2016. The other was a nine-year-old raped and murdered by three unidentified youngsters in Shergarh.

Mardan Nazim Himayatullah Mayar said rape and murder of the little girl wasn’t the first in Mardan, adding that the PTI government and Imran Khan were acting as silent spectators. Mayar pointed out the fact that Imran protest against similar incidents in Punjab but remains silent when repeated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Announcing to stage a protest today (Wednesday), he said the police were not providing the autopsy report which clearly mentioned that the child was raped before being murdered.

Monitoring Desk adds: On the other hand, Mardan police chief, Dr Mian Saeed, told BBC they were collecting data of locals, adding that the police were not getting any additional help because the incident occurred in a far-flung area.

APP adds: PML-N leader and Prime Minister's adviser Amir Muqam Tuesday condemned Asma's brutal murder and said this incident had exposed the performance of the so-called reformed police of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

In a statement issued here, he said prior to this, two girls of age 3 and 5 years respectively were raped and brutally murdered in the vicinity of KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

"Imran's scale justice changes with the change in province. His conscience only awake when something happens in Punjab but it sleeps when an incident occurs in KPK," he said. He said the incidents of rape and killing of minors in all over the country was a moment of worry for everyone.