Rape is a criminal offence in Pakistan. Punishment for rape in Pakistan under the Pakistani laws is either death penalty or imprisonment of between ten and twenty-five years. For gang rape, the punishment is either death penalty or life imprisonment.

International attention

Rape in Pakistan came to international attention after the politically sanctioned rape of Mukhtaran Bibi.According to Women's Studies professor Shahla Haeri, rape in Pakistan is "often institutionalized and has the tacit and at times the explicit approval of the state".According to late lawyer Asma Jahangir, who was a co-founder of the women's rights groupWomen's Action Forum, up to seventy-two percent of women in custody in Pakistan are physically or sexually abused.

Rape cases on the rise

Chaudhary Sarwar had revealed: "Pakistan is among the 10 worst countries when it comes to rape cases.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A 5-year-old girl in southern Pakistan was raped, hit on the head and set on fire. 

 In the second case, the woman was driving late Tuesday night with her three children from Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab Province, to the city of Gujranwala, when her car ran out of fuel. She called the police, and as she waited for assistance, two men, both believed to be in their 30s, broke the driver’s-side window with sticks and stones and dragged her and her children off the road.

The girl was kidnapped last Friday after going to buy cookies at a shop in the southern port city of Karachi, the police said. Her body was found two days later, and an autopsy indicated that she had been sexually assaulted.

Over 70 more cases reported in 2 months in lahore

In the first 60 days of 2020, as many as 73 incidents of rape have been reported, including 5 gang-rape cases. Thus sexual assault and abuse cases in Lahore have not decreased.

The victims also include minors.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE:
 In Lahore, the authorities registered 88 cases of child sexual abuse with boys and 17 with girls, whereas, in the preceding year, there were 41 cases of child abuse with boys and 22 with girls. 

In Kasur, 75 cases of child abuse and 41 of child sexual abuse with boys were registered whereas 10 cases of child abuse and 25 cases of child sexual abuse with girls were registered.

Moreover, one case of the murder of girl after sexual abuse was registered in Vehari, one in Jhang, two in Faisalabad and one in Narowal. Four cases of boys being murdered after being sexually abused were registered in Rawalpindi and one in Lodhran.