Six-year-old Muhammad Wali had no idea that there are wolves in sheep’s clothing when he stepped out of his home on the afternoon of July 6 to fetch a small household item. It became the last journey of his life.
The little boy, who had left home for only a few moments, remained the focus of an intense two-day search by his family, neighbours and police. But when he was finally found, it was as a lifeless body stuffed inside a sack. The horrific incident has plunged not only Karachi but the entire country into grief, shock and outrage.
Wali was the only son of rickshaw driver Abid Hussain who lived with his family in the Punjabi Gali area of Lea Market. Abid’s life revolved around hard work. Every morning he would leave home to drive his rickshaw and return in the evening to provide for his family.
After four daughters, Wali was born following years of prayers and hope, making him the apple of the family’s eye. As the youngest child, he was adored by everyone. His sisters cherished him, his mother devoted her life to him, and his father forgot the exhaustion of the day the moment he saw his son’s smile.
On July 6 afternoon, Wali left home to buy a small household item. When he did not return, his family initially assumed he was playing in the neighbourhood. However, as hours passed without any sign of him, concern quickly turned into panic. At the time, his father was out driving his rickshaw. When he returned home in the evening, his eldest daughter Mah Noor informed him that Wali had been missing since around 2:30pm. The news left the father devastated.
The family immediately began searching every street, nearby shop and relatives’ house. They knocked on doors throughout the night, questioned residents and made announcements through local mosques, but there was no trace of the child.
The following day, a kidnapping case was registered at Napier police station. Police launched an investigation while residents joined the search, hoping the boy would be found alive and safe.
During the search, one individual remained constantly by the family’s side. He comforted the grieving parents, accompanied them to various locations in search of the missing child and even questioned passers-by. No one suspected him. However, investigators later identified the same man as the prime suspect, a revelation that stunned both the neighbourhood and law enforcement officials.
After two days of frantic searching, residents heard a loud thud on Wednesday (July 8) night. They rushed outside and found a heavy sack lying in an empty plot. According to eyewitnesses, it had been thrown from the window of a three-storey building. When the sack was opened, residents were confronted with a horrifying scene. Inside was the body of the child wrapped in a blanket.
The discovery plunged the neighbourhood into mourning. Wali’s mother reportedly collapsed repeatedly after seeing her son’s body. His father broke down in grief, while the cries of his sisters echoed through the streets. Only hours earlier, they had been praying for the child’s safe return. Now they were preparing for his funeral.
Enraged residents immediately detained a young man, identified as Hamza, who lived in the same building and had come under suspicion. The crowd assaulted him before police arrived and took him into custody. The subsequent investigation uncovered disturbing allegations.
According to police, the arrested suspect confessed during initial interrogation that he had lured the child to his apartment during a funeral gathering. Investigators alleged that the child was sexually assaulted before being murdered. The suspect reportedly told investigators that he wrapped the body in a blanket, placed it inside a sack and concealed it in a cupboard.
During this period, police visited the area several times and conducted searches, but the body remained undiscovered. As suspicion among residents intensified, the suspect allegedly panicked and threw the sack containing the body from the apartment’s window.
Police said the suspect had earned the child’s trust by buying him small gifts. The suspect actively participated in the search alongside the victim’s family in an apparent attempt to divert suspicion.
During questioning, the suspect initially claimed that other individuals had been involved in the crime. However, investigators said preliminary findings suggested that this statement was intended to mislead the investigation.
Authorities said all aspects of the case were being examined, including the suspect’s previous criminal record and whether he had been involved in similar offences against children in the past.
In Wali’s case, the child’s body had begun decomposing by the time it was recovered. Preliminary examination revealed a skull fracture and marks on the neck. When contacted by The News, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said the most common cause of death in child rape-and-murder cases was asphyxia, which may result from ligature strangulation, throttling or suffocation.
She said that while the number and severity of such cases varied month to month, “some months are bad, but others, like the last one, are horrible in terms of both the number of cases and their severity.”
According to Dr Syed, the recent increase in such cases has primarily involved children under the age of 10. “However, based on my experience in medico-legal practice, the average age of victims is between five and 10/11 years,” she said.
Zone South DIG Syed Asad Raza told The News that investigators had collected and sent forensic samples for DNA analysis. When asked about the factors behind the growing number of child rape and murder cases, the DIG said there was no single explanation, as such crimes were driven by a combination of psychological, social and environmental factors.
“Some offenders suffer from psychological or psychiatric disorders. In some cases, excessive and unchecked exposure to social media or pornography also plays a role, while others may have themselves experienced abuse or trauma during childhood,” he said.
Explaining why children were often targeted, DIG Raza said their innocence and vulnerability made them easier to manipulate. “Children are more trusting and can be lured more easily than adults,” he noted.
The DIG said many offenders initially committed sexual assault but later decided to kill the victim out of fear of being identified. “Once the assault has taken place, they realise the consequences of their actions and panic. In many cases, the perpetrator is someone known to the child — a relative, neighbour, shopkeeper, watchman, security guard or domestic worker. Fearing that the child may identify them, they believe killing the victim will help them escape justice,” he said.
Stressing the need for prevention, the officer urged the parents to educate their children about personal safety. “Parents should regularly counsel their children, teach them the difference between good touch and bad touch, advise them not to leave home alone unnecessarily or interact with strangers, and encourage them to immediately report anything or anyone that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe,” he said. “Open communication between parents and children is one of the most effective ways to prevent such crimes.”
The tragedy has not only robbed one family of its only son but has also raised serious concerns about public safety and the protection of children. When a child can no longer trust a neighbour, when parents fear sending their children to a nearby shop and when innocence falls victim to brutality, it is no longer merely a murder but a stark reminder of society’s collective failure.
Wali is gone forever. His laughter, innocence and tiny footsteps have fallen silent. His mother still looks towards the door, hoping her son might somehow return home. His father, who spent his days earning an honest living for his children, now sits beside his only son’s grave seeking justice. His four sisters, whose happiness revolved around their little brother, are left with nothing but memories.
The tragedy serves as another painful reminder that protecting children requires more than strict laws. It demands swift and effective implementation, timely investigations, greater parental awareness, stronger community vigilance and exemplary punishment for offenders.
Wali cannot be brought back, but unless society learns from this heartbreaking case, another family may one day suffer the same irreversible loss.
This grim pattern was also reflected in the tragedy of seven-year-old Saad Ali from the Landhi area. The young boy had left his home to buy sweets from a nearby shop, only for his body to be found stuffed inside a bag at a garbage dump on September 18, 2025, four days after he went missing.
Similarly, a three-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered in Karachi’s Malir area in June 2026. Her body with torture marks was later recovered close to her residence. According to a press release issued by child rights organisation Sahil in March 2026, a total of 3,630 child abuse cases were reported across Pakistan in 2025.
The organisation said the figure represented an eight per cent increase, or 266 more cases, compared to 2024. Of the total victims, 1,924 (53 per cent) were girls and 1,625 (47 per cent) were boys, while 116 cases involved newborn babies.
Sahil said the figures indicated that more than nine children on average were abused every day during 2025. According to the report, abduction was the most frequently reported offence, accounting for 1,107 cases, followed by sodomy with 596 cases and rape with 522 cases. Other categories included 365 cases of missing children, 195 attempted rape cases, 141 attempted sodomy cases, 130 gang sodomy cases, 108 gang rape cases, 58 cases in which children were murdered after sexual abuse, and 53 cases of child marriage. The report further noted that children between the ages of 11 and 15 were the most vulnerable to abuse, with boys outnumbering girls among victims in that age group.
Published in The News, July 20th, 2026.
