The scars from the Mashal Khan’s murder were still afresh on our souls when the nation was shocked with another gruesome rape and murder incident of a seven years old child in Kausur. There are countless tragic incidents back in our history where no lessons have been learnt from and only the knee-jerk reaction was observed. The machinations of notorious serial killer of children, Javed Iqbal, was soon forgotten with his death and no follow up steps were taken to nab such evils from the society in future. The customary condemnations erupt from every sphere of society in case of such events but unfortunately no practical and solid steps are initiated from any concerned quarter to curb the menace once and for all from the society.

We have lost many Zainabs, Mashal Khans, Mukhtara Mais, Aitizaz Hasans to the sick, extremist and fundamentalist mindset. It is the time the government takes on the causes and perpetrators of such heinous crimes head-on. The social taboos of discussing child abuse in open should be discouraged. Lessons on pedophilia should be included in text books to educate children against it. Strict anti-harassment laws for child protection should be framed. The media and religious scholars should also play their roles to highlight this issue and suggest precautionary measures.

M SAYYAD ALAM KHAN,

Peshawar, January 15.