Hundreds of infants are reportedly found dumped each year – most are girls
A Pakistani dad has been arrested on suspicion of shooting dead his seven-day-old baby girl because he reportedly wanted his firstborn to be a boy.
The baby named Jannat – meaning ‘heaven’ in Urdu – was shot four times on Monday at her home in the city of Mianwali, police said. The case has sparked outrage in Pakistan, with the alleged killing being branded “beyond barbaric”.
The arrested man, identified in media reports as Shahzaib Khan, allegedly entered his house and ordered his wife to hand over Jannat before shooting her dead, reported Dawn newspaper.
Police said Khan then fled the scene and was arrested Thursday in a nearby district.
A relative of the child, Hidayatullah Khan, launched a formal complaint against Khan and told Dawn that Khan was “disturbed” over the birth of a baby girl.
He said Khan had not returned to the family home after discovering his wife had given birth to a girl and refused to accept her.
The case sparked fury in Pakistan.
“This is beyond barbaric, brutal, and vicious,” Tehseen Qasim wrote on Twitter.
Another Twitter user, Misbah Munir, wrote: “I’m disgusted to the core. I feel terribly for the mother. Look at the beautiful daughter she had. Women lead the world, it’s 2022.”
Faisal Edhi, who heads the largest social welfare charity group in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, reported that over 500 bodies of infants were found dumped over the past two year. Most were girls, MailOnline reported.
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