Over 1,000 kids killed in Pakistan in 2012

Islamabad: As many as 1,113 children were murdered and around 1,400 injured in Pakistan last year in cases related to violence against minors, a leading human rights attorney has said. Growing lawlessness in the country and the weak role of police have resulted in a spike in such cases, Zia Ahmed Awan told the Daily Times.

Awan is the president of the Lawyers of Human Rights and Legal Aid and founder of the Madadgaar National Helpline. He said their database showed that from January to December 2012, as many as 6,444 cases of violence against children were reported by the media. A total of 1,113 children were murdered, 582 kidnapped, 246 sodomised, 455 sexually assaulted, 330 raped and 235 trafficked. There were 476 forced marriages, 188 honour killings and 195 child marriages. A total of 355 children committed suicide. IANS