Every day in 2026, we hear the same kind of story: a girl goes missing and is later found dead. The victim could be a five-year-old child, an elderly woman, or a young girl. This is not simply a bad year. It has been happening for years. The only difference now is how frequently these stories occur.
Ayat Noor was five years old when she disappeared in Haripur. She was found dead 15 days later. Police said CCTV footage was used to identify the suspects. Might her life have been saved if the investigation had progressed more quickly? Why does a missing child have to die before the system is prepared to act urgently?
There were other cases before Ayat Noor: Hina Javed, a little girl; a young disabled woman who was raped inside a police station that was supposed to be a place of safety for victims; and other girls whose cases have become part of the same distressing pattern.
Who is to be held responsible? Are parents to be blamed every time, or the state, which continues to hear such cases without making meaningful changes?
The same excuse is then given: “He was mentally unstable.”
The discussion should not end there. If a person is genuinely dangerous because of a mental disorder or serious behavioural problem, the response should involve proper assessment, treatment and, where the law permits, protective measures.
Other countries have established systems to deal with such cases. In the United States, certain dangerous offenders may, subject to legal criteria, be civilly committed after serving their prison sentences if they continue to pose a danger because of a qualifying mental abnormality. Germany also provides for Sicherungsverwahrung, or preventive detention, for certain offenders who continue to pose a serious danger to society, including some convicted of serious sexual offences. The emphasis is not simply on describing someone as unstable, but on determining whether they remain a danger.
In a state such as Pakistan, however, these incidents have become disturbingly routine: someone goes missing and is later found dead, sometimes after being raped. The dogs of the elite can be found within hours, yet ordinary citizens often cannot be found alive.
It is impossible for parents to watch their children every moment, so the burden cannot be placed solely on families. A state safeguards its children through effective police investigations, a functioning judicial system, proper risk assessments and laws that are actually enforced.
Our daughters, sisters, mothers and children have the right to safety.
What will it take?
KASHAF PANHWAR,
Sindh.
