Actor Zara Noor Abbas has expressed concern over the safety of children amid a series of violent incidents involving minors, questioning how parents can protect their children amid what she described as “the worst times”.
In an Instagram story posted on Sunday, Abbas said the situation was particularly alarming not only because cases of rape and murder were being reported frequently, but also because perpetrators did not appear to be facing sufficient consequences.
She said the repeated occurrence of such crimes had created an impression that they could be committed with ease, adding that the issue had gone beyond gender.
The actor questioned what parents could do to protect their children under such circumstances and whether taking the law into one’s own hands could ever be justified. She also criticised the justice system, saying it appeared to behave like a “sixth grader”.
Abbas appeared to refer to the recent exhumation and second autopsy of young businessman Mir Raza Ali, whose death was initially investigated as a possible suicide. A second post-mortem, conducted following a court order, reportedly found that he had been shot in the back and subjected to torture.
She also questioned the decision to provide counselling and mental health support to a 17-year-old suspect accused of the rape and murder of a child in Karachi, citing his age as a factor.
“But then what do I do?” Abbas asked. “How do I protect my children?”
The actor is among several public figures who have spoken out following two recent incidents in Karachi that have sparked public concern.
Mir Raza Ali, who went missing on July 28, was found dead two days later in the city’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area. The case drew further attention after his family raised concerns over the initial autopsy and sought a second post-mortem examination.
In another case, a young girl died on Tuesday after allegedly being raped in Qayyumabad. Her parents subsequently registered a police case, while the primary suspect, a teenage relative who had reportedly taken the girl outside to buy something before returning with her unconscious, was arrested on Wednesday.
