Every few months, a horrific instance of human trafficking or child molestation in Kasur is brought to light, indicating that the problems of sexual exploitation revealed by the Child Sexual Abuse Scandal of 2015 revealed, has still not been properly addressed and countered.

On Thursday, two minor girls, aged twelve years and three years, were rescued from a sex trafficking ring in Kasur. The Pattoki police arrested four people, including three women, in neighbourhood Sharifpura for buying the minor girls for prostitution purposes. The police, with the help of Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) officials, raided two dens and rescued the minor girls. A case has been lodged under sections 371-B (buying person for the purpose of prostitution) and 511 (offences punishable with imprisonment for life) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and section 34 of The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act.

The fact that this is not the first instance of child trafficking and prostitution rings found in Kasur reveals that whatever lessons the country learned from the past outrageous scandals have not been enough. The Kasur Child Sexual Abuse Scandal in 2015 was the first to shed a light upon the range of illegal and horrendous activities that were occurring in some parts of Kasur- the horrific details of the case prompted massive outcry. Yet for at least four years, no visible justice was seen to be done, as the perpetrators seem to have gotten scot-free because of the government’s massive silence. The Zainab murder case brought attention back to the looming issue of child sexual abuse in Kasur and prompted a nationwide conversation on how to tackle the issues of child abuse and raise awareness for minors’ rights. Some of the suspects in the 2015 Kasur scandal were handed life sentences and the platform seemed one of change.

Yet this recent case proves there is still a long way to go to encounter these monsters of child trafficking and slavery. A commission into child abuse, set up following the Kasur case, found that in the first six months of 2015, 577 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Punjab. There needs to be special attention dedicated to this phenomena- with so many task forces being made, the Human Rights Ministry should look into constituting a task force to investigate trafficking and sexual abuse as well.