Zainab Amin Ansari (; – January 2018) was a seven-year-old Pakistani girl who was abducted in her hometown of

Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

while she was on her way to

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

recitation classes on 4 January 2018. Her body was found discarded five days later within a garbage disposal site near the city of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

on 9 January 2018; an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

report disclosed that she had been extensively

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

and

tortured Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions restrict torture to ac ...

before being

strangled Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

to death. Her rapist and murderer, 24-year-old Imran Ali, was arrested and identified as a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

responsible for at least seven previous rapes and murders of

prepubescent Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

girls in the region. Ansari's murder incited widespread protests and outrage throughout Pakistan, and ultimately led to the passage of Pakistan's first national child safety law, known as the

Zainab Alert Bill Zainab Alert Bill, also called Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act 2019, is a Government of Pakistan law that defines the system of one window operations to notify the public and recover kidnapped children in Pakistan. The bill originated in ...

(similar to the AMBER Alert system in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). The bill directs that any individual found guilty of child abuse faces a minimum mandatory sentence of life imprisonment and also stipulates instigating legal action against any law enforcement officials who cause any unnecessary delay in investigating such cases within two hours of a child being reported as missing.

Event

The incident occurred when Ansari's parents were in Saudi Arabia to perform

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

, while she was temporarily living with her uncle. On 4 January 2018, she went missing while on her way to a

tuition class near her home. Her uncle, Muhammad Adnan, lodged a complaint with the

Kasur District Kasur District ( Punjabi, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab, Pakistan. It came into existence on 1 July 1976; prior to its creation, the area comprised two tehsils ( Kasur Tehsil and Chunian Tehsil) of Lahore District. Acc ...

police office.

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

video footage discovered by Ansari's family without any aid from local authorities showed her accompanied by an unknown bearded man in white clothes and a jacket, holding her hand and walking on Peerowala Road in

. Her body was later discovered at a garbage disposal site on Shahbaz Khan Road on 9 January 2018. An

report confirmed that she had been

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d, sodomised and

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d before being

to death.

Protests

Prior to the rape and murder of Ansari, the province of

had seen several pedophilia scandals, with local

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

accused of inaction and/or

cover-up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

efforts. Following Ansari's murder, protests were held in many major cities across Pakistan, including the capital of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, which saw

candlelight vigil A candlelight vigil or candlelit vigil or candlelight service is an assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset in order to pray, show support for a specific cause, or remember the dead, in which case, the event is often called a cand ...

s, vehicles burned, roads blockaded and several clashes between protestors and police; two people were killed after they had broken into a police station. Four policemen who allegedly opened fire at protesters in Kasur were reportedly arrested and under investigation.

Reactions

The

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, (Back when he was

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

)

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

, tweeted:

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

laureate

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...

wrote on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

: "This has to stop. overnmentand the concerned authorities must take action."

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

tweeted: "The condemnable & horrific rape & murder of little Zainab exposes once again how vulnerable our children are in our society." Islamic cleric

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (‎; born 19 February 1951) is a Pakistani Canadians, Pakistani–Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who founded Minhaj-ul-Quran International and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. Born in West Punjab, Pakistan, ...

, a political rival of the former ruling

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League (; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the centre-right platform in the country. The ''Muslim League'' (the original successor of the All-India Muslim ...

party, "demanded the local government be replaced, saying it has 'no right to remain in power after the killing of Zainab Ansari. Kiran Naz, a

Samaa TV Samaa TV HD () is a Pakistani Urdu language news channel owned by a Pakistani politician, Aleem Khan. The word 'Samaa' ("سما") is Urdu for 'sky' or 'heaven' (ultimately derived from the Arabic "سماء"). It is broadcast simultaneously f ...

news anchor, hosted a 10 January bulletin with her young daughter on her lap as an act of protest. At the

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan ...

, artist celebrities

Ayesha Omer Ayesha Omar (; born 12 October 1981) is a Pakistani actress. Considered a style icon in her home country, Omar is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses in Pakistan. In 2012, she released her first singles "Chalte Chalte" and "Kha ...

Nadia Hussain Nadia Hussain Khan (, born 11 January 1979) is a Pakistani television actress, host, supermodel, entrepreneur and fashion designer. She's recognized as one of Pakistan's first supermodels. Career Hussain (the wild cat) was born in the Unite ...

, Faysal Qureshi and others met on 12 January with Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, demanding laws and justice to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Mahira Khan Mahira Hafeez Khan (; born 21 December 1984) is a Pakistani film and television actress. One of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mahira Khan, several ac ...

Ali Zafar Ali Zafar (; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, actor, model, producer, screenwriter and painter. He started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician, later also established a career in Bollywood and h ...

Imran Abbas Syed Imran Abbas Naqvi (born 15 October 1982) professionally known by his stage name Imran Abbas, is a Pakistani actor and model who works predominantly in Urdu television and films. Abbas made his acting debut with ''Umrao Jaan Ada'' in 20 ...

Mawra Hocane Mawra Hussain (; born 28 September 1992), known professionally as Mawra Hocane, is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu television. She made her acting debut in 2011 with '' Khichari Salsa''. She made her Bollywood debut with the ...

, and

Saba Qamar Saba Qamar Zaman (born 5 April 1984) is a Pakistani actress who works predominantly in Urdu films and television series. Qamar is one of Pakistan's most popular and highest-paid actresses. She has been a recipient of several accolades througho ...

, as well as former cricket players

Wasim Akram Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...

and

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former international cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he is the fastest bowler in cricketing history, with an unbeaten 161.3 kmph (100.23 mph) delivery. Akht ...

tweeted about the incident, condemning the brutal rape and murder, while also trending the hashtag #JusticeforZainab.

Arrest

announced the arrest of a suspect, Imran Ali, in a press conference on 23 January 2018. He confirmed that

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...

tests and the

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

of the suspect matched with the samples of at least eight minor girls, including Ansari, who were raped and murdered within the same neighbourhood. Ali was a 24-year-old

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

who lived in Ansari's neighbourhood, and further investigations disclosed that he had even taken part in the protests following the discovery of Ansari's body. Police also found the jacket worn by the suspect, which was seen in the

footage showing Ansari just before she disappeared. Ali eventually confessed to having committed the serial rapes and murders.

Sentencing

On 17 February 2018, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore Central Jail found Ali guilty for the rape and murder of Ansari and twelve other underage girls. The court handed him four counts of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, one

life term Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

, a seven-year jail term and in fines. He was executed by

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

on 17 October 2018 at 05:30

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

Zainab Alert Bill

In 2020, the

Parliament of Pakistan The Parliament of Pakistan is the supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is a bicameralism, bicameral federation, federal legislature, composed of the President of Pakistan and two houses: the Senate of ...

passed the ''Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2019'', colloquially known as the Zainab Alert Bill, named after Ansari. The bill outlines various systems designed to improve the country's responses to missing child cases.

References

External links

Samaa TV Zainab murder suspect’s confessional video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Zainab 2010s crimes in Punjab, Pakistan 2010s trials 2018 in Punjab, Pakistan 2018 murders in Pakistan Deaths by person in Pakistan January 2018 crimes in Asia January 2018 in Pakistan Female murder victims Kasur District Kidnappings in Pakistan Missing person cases in Pakistan Formerly missing Pakistani people Murder in Punjab, Pakistan Murder trials Protests in Pakistan Rape in Pakistan Rape in the 2010s Rape trials Trials in Pakistan Incidents of violence against girls Violence against women in Pakistan Child murder in Pakistan