LAHORE - Girls from across the country have been lured into prostitution in Punjab’s capital.
Found unconscious from Walton Road, a Karachi teen tells the terrible tale how she was trapped into flesh trade.
The 19-year-old resident of Malir told the police how she was forced to become a sex worker. Minutes after she regained consciousness at the Lahore General Hospital (LGH) on Wednesday, the girl told investigators she was brought to Lahore on the pretext of employment.
On her revelations, police raided the brothel in Peer Colony’s street no 5 (Factory Area, Kot Lakpat) and arrested Yousaf and Shakeel.
On her complaint, the police booked five men, including an ex-PIA official on the charges of gang rape.
During initial investigation, it was also revealed that Junaid Khan brought the teen to Lahore and sold her to Rehana, (a renowned pimp). Sub inspector Sarfraz and Rehana were running the brothel for last several months.
“The victim has identified four of the five accused persons nominated (as rapists) in the FIR. Police have arrested two men and raids are underway for others,” SP Cantonment Sarfraz Ahmed Khan said.
Talking to TheNation, the police officer said that the girl was discharged from the hospital after medical treatment. Yousaf told the police that he had paid money to hire the ‘services’ of the girl therefore, it was not rape or gang-rape case.
According to the victim, she was taken to an apartment where five men identified as Nadeem, Tahir, Yousaf, Shakeel and Aslam were present. Under duress, she was kept at the apartment for four consecutive days and the men repeatedly raped her. The victim says that the men were under the heavy influence of liquor when they assaulted her.
The girl claimed that she was drugged before being raped. However, police officials say they believe the girl was forced to drink alcohol.
The girl was lying unconscious alongside the road as rescue workers reached the spot and shifted her to the hospital in critical condition. Eyewitnesses told the police that the girl was thrown out of a moving car in the morning.
A similar incident was reported last year in which a sex worker was travelling back home when her rickshaw was stopped at a security picket. From there she was forced to go to an apartment where she was raped by the policemen.
Last week, a 20-year-old stage dancer was found gang-raped in the Gulberg area. Initial investigations suggested that seven people gang-raped the woman at an apartment and fled leaving the victim inside a car near Liberty Market. It is believed that police used to back crimes ending in such patterns. 
Prostitution in Pakistan is a taboo that exists like an open secret considered as immoral. Many prostitutes operate underground in the country.
Many political economists acknowledge poverty coupled with high-inflation as a crucial factory in driving women towards prostitution.
Cities like Karachi and Lahore are major base where call-girls operate underground. A recent study indicated that major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan have large population of sex workers.