CCTV shows 8-year-old Zainab Ansari being led away by a mystery man in Pakistan before being found raped and murdered. / Twitter / Abubakar Umer
A 7-year-old girl was raped and murdered before having her body dumped in the rubbish.
Zainab Ansari was last seen on her way to a religious recital when her body was found 2km from her home.
Chilling CCTV footage captured the moment a male suspect lad her away before shewas strangled to death.
Speaking at Islamabad airport as he arrived back in the country, her father Ameen Ansari said, as his wife sobbed: "We will not bury Zainab until the killer is caught.
"If the police would have acted immediately, the culprit would have been caught."
Much of the anger was directed Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Inspector General of Police who they claimed had failed to act on dozens of cases of children being raped and murdered in the Kasur district of the province.
Seven-year-old Zainab was raped and murdered on her way to a religious event. Photo / Supplied
Among those voicing anger was the cricket star and politician Imran Khan who tweeted: "The condemnable & horrific rape & murder of little Zainab exposes once again how vulnerable our children are in our society.
"This is not the first time such horrific acts have happened. We have to act swiftly to punish the guilty & ensure that our children are better protected."
At the girl's funeral, there were calls for local government to be sacked while thousands marched the streets calling for the killer to be caught and punished publicly.
Police say similar incidents appear to be taking place in Kasur with 12 girls murdered in the past two years.
Last month, a 9-year-old girl went missing in the city centre after going to the shops near her home. She managed to escape her captor and return home but has been left severely traumatised by her ordeal, reports say.
