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Karachi was left reeling once again on Wednesday as news emerged of a child being raped and killed in the city’s Qayyumabad area.

According to the FIR registered on the complaint of the girl’s father, the child was taken out by a relative to buy something to eat. When they returned, she was unconscious and taken to a private hospital and then to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where she died.

The relative — a 17-year-old boy who lived with the family — was arrested on Wednesday on charges of allegedly raping and murdering the child.

Among those calling for justice and accountability was actor Sanam Baloch, who said the news was “devastating” and that “justice must be served”.

Baloch said that being a mother herself, she “can’t even imagine the trauma this family must be going through”. She said the safety of the nation’s children was paramount.

Adnan Siddiqui questioned how depraved people had become that this had become our reality. He said the fact that the victim was just 18-months-old — as per reports — and the suspect was a teenager, made the ordeal that much more horrific. He said he was feeling both “disgusted and heartbroken”.

“There are no words left. Only rage, grief and shame that we have come to this,” said Siddiqui. He prayed for “swift and uncompromising justice for the child and strength for her family”.

Ayesha Omar said the country and society were in “the lowest of lows” and called for people to come together and figure out how to move forward in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“We cannot go on like this anymore,” Omar said.

Srha Asghar said we ought to have some shame as another day brought with it another miserable story. Zhalay Sarhadi, meanwhile, could only plead for God’s mercy in these times.

A number of cases of violence and abuse against children have been reported recently, including two gruesome murders that elicited similar reactions in June.

At the time, Siddiqui said that even animals have an instinct to protect their young and questioned how humans had failed so badly in protecting their own.

Omar said, “The environment all over Pakistan is barbaric,” and that she was “shaken, so, so, so angry and feeling hopeless about this country”.

Both demanded accountability for those responsible for harming children.