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There is horror, disgust and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness online as Pakistani netizens react to a video of a young girl being attacked by a grown man in Punjab’s Kasur. The city has been the epicentre of several cases of child abuse, including the Zainab Ansari murder, and a 2015 child pornography ring that involved 280 children. The Zainab case catalysed the setting up of Pakistan’s missing child hotline.

The video that surfaced on Monday showed a young girl riding a tricycle with another child in an alley. A man walks up to her, forcefully grabs and assaults her and then strolls on. Soon after the video went viral, the Punjab Police announced they had arrested the culprit and filed a case against him.

According to Kasur District Police Officer Muhammad Isa Khan, the suspect was arrested in an injured condition. He was caught on Dhanpat Road where he pulled out a pistol to escape arrest. However, he was shot during an exchange of fire and was arrested in an injured condition. “The suspect had molested a little girl playing in a street in Shah Inayat Colony three days ago,” a police statement read.

The video shared by the Punjab Police included a poorly censored picture of the victim being handed a bouquet, a gesture that seemed more concerned with optics and public reassurance than addressing the deeper failures behind such incidents.

The overwhelming sentiment online was one of horror that the city had been hit with yet another case of child abuse. “Kasur. Again,” lamented journalist Zarrar Khuhro.

“The video from Kasur leaves no room for the tired excuse ‘not all men.’ This predatory behaviour is sickening. If there’s no self-accountability, the state must do its part to make an example out of such predators,” another user insisted.

A lot of the conversation online focused on the city itself, while others reminded everyone that it wasn’t just Kasur that was the problem — such predatory behaviour is found elsewhere in the country as well.

“I find it very ignorant that every time a case emerges from Kasur, people start their outrage with ‘what’s wrong with Kasur?’ What do you mean? What’s wrong? Have you been living under a rock?” a user lashed out. “Don’t you know about the biggest child abuse scandal of this country?”

One user urged everyone to take care of the children, “not just girls but boys too.”

More reflected on the growing cases of child molestation in Kasur.

“Another horrifying case from Kasur… This is the same city where 6-year-old Zainab was brutally assaulted. Why do such vile crimes keep happening there?” another pondered.

A user pointed out that we only get to hear about such cases when they’re reported or caught on camera, much like this one. However, most crimes of this nature go unreported, and predators unaccounted for.

“The sad thing is that this may not even be the first time. There is a serious problem in this country, but the ones in power are not ready to address it. Pakistan’s Hidden Shame came out in 2014. The Kasur scandal came to light 10 years ago. Yet nothing was done,” they held.

The cycle is predictable — a horrific case surfaces, public outrage erupts, authorities issue statements, and then the momentum fades. Despite repeated incidents, Kasur remains a case study in neglect. But it’s not that Kasur is uniquely vulnerable — it’s that its tragedies are more visible, more documented, and therefore harder to ignore.

Blaming Kasur, again and again, might give people an outlet for their horror, but it doesn’t come close to addressing the root problem. Predators don’t grow in Kasur alone. They are everywhere — protected by silence, shame, weak policing, and a collective refusal to confront the rot.

The real issue lies in the lack of a consistent policy response. While laws like the Zainab Alert Act exist, the lack of implementation of laws remains key hindrance in protecting children. Police training on handling abuse cases is minimal. And most abuse goes unreported because victims and their families fear stigma or simply don’t trust the system to deliver justice.

Moreover, Pakistan still lacks a child abuse offender registry, and prosecution rates remain low. According to a 2023 Sahil report, over 4,200 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Pakistan in one year alone — -around 12 cases a day — and these represent only those that make it into the system.

This is not a law-and-order problem alone. Until child protection is treated as a national priority, with funding, accountability, and local-level enforcement, outrage will remain performative. Kasur will trend again. So will our helplessness.