In a harrowing case of abduction and sexual assault, a 40-year-old Sikh woman has been rescued after enduring nine months of captivity and repeated gang-rape in Faisalabad district, Pakistan. The woman, whose identity is being withheld for her protection, was found along with her minor son following a police operation on August 14.
The victim, a resident of Nankana Sahib, was abducted by two brothers, Khurram Shahzad and Kizar Shahzad, who held her and her child hostage. According to authorities, the ordeal began in December of the previous year when the woman asked Khurram, whom she had met through a friend, to transport her son to her sister’s home in Faisalabad. Instead, Khurram took the child hostage and coerced the woman to accompany him to his residence in Sohailabad, where she and her son were kept in confinement.
During this period, the woman was subjected to relentless abuse by both Khurram and his brother, Kizar. ASP Zainab Khalid, head of the Gender-Based Violence Unit in Faisalabad, reported that the woman was subjected to severe physical and emotional torture whenever she resisted the abuse.
The case came to light following a complaint filed by a relative of the victim. Acting on this information, police conducted a raid on the suspects’ residence, leading to the rescue of the woman and her child. The two alleged perpetrators have been taken into custody and charged under the Pakistan Penal Code.
The authorities are continuing their investigation into the case, which has sparked outrage and calls for greater protection and justice for victims of sexual violence in the region. The police and gender violence advocates are working together to provide the necessary support and care for the woman and her child as they begin to recover from their traumatic experience.
