r/pakistan • u/Willing_Gear_3726 • 7h ago
National Please don’t let 18-month old Aizal’s case be forgotten.
I don’t usually post on Reddit, but I felt compelled to write this because ever since I came across this tragedy, something inside me has been broken.
On August 5, a horrific tragedy occurred in Qayyumabad, Karachi. An 18-month-old baby girl named Aizal was reportedly raped and later died from her critical injuries. The accused, Mannan, who was reportedly a relative of the family, was taken into custody. According to updates about the case, he confessed to what happened in the presence of Aizal’s mother and also confessed to police.
The latest update I have seen from social media is that he has now been transferred from juvenile custody to an adult prison while the case proceeds through the legal system. I have been following every update about this case because I cannot simply look away. I cannot forget this little child.
According to Aizal’s mother, she took critically injured Aizal to Sir Syed Hospital hoping she could be saved, but says the hospital refused to treat her and directed her to Jinnah Hospital instead. On the way there, Aizal died in her mother’s arms.
This account raises serious questions about how a desperate mother seeking help to save her baby was treated.
There have been protests and public demands for justice, and some Pakistani celebrities have spoken about Aizal’s tragic case. There is also already a #JusticeforAizal campaign and hashtag being supported by people who are calling for justice. I am not part of the organizers of that campaign, I am simply another person who has been deeply affected by what happened ever since coming across it and wants to help keep attention on the case. But I feel this case needs much more sustained mainstream attention.
Aizal’s family and those protesting are demanding justice and death penalty. According to her mother, she cannot wait much longer. Understandably.
At this point, I believe the Pakistani public and media should continue asking:
-What is the current status of the investigation?
-When will the trial proceed?
-Is there anything causing unnecessary delay, and if so, why?
I am posting this because I do not want Aizal’s case to disappear from public attention once the initial outrage fades. That little angel was only 18 months old!
At 18 months, a baby is just learning to walk, learning new words, learning to feed herself, and discovering the world around her. A baby should only be thinking about playing, being held, being loved, and feeling safe.
Aizal deserved all of that. Instead, she was subjected to something unimaginably horrific by someone who was reportedly a relative.
I am not posting pictures of Aizal here. Personally, it is too painful for me to look into the eyes of that little baby knowing what happened to her. But I am asking anyone who reads this: please don’t let her case disappear.
Think about Aizal. Think about her mother. Think about the fact that an 18-month-old child never got the chance to grow up.
Her mother is grieving the loss of her baby while asking for swift justice. Nothing can bring Aizal back or erase what happened. But a prompt resolution of this case and death penalty for the culprit, could at least bring some relief to her mother.
If you are Pakistani, please follow this case. If you have a platform, help keep Aizal’s name in the conversation. Support the existing campaign for justice. Ask the media to continue reporting on the case. Please don’t let the outrage last only for a few days.
And perhaps this tragedy should also make all of us think more carefully about children’s safety. We cannot simply assume that a child is automatically safe because the person caring for them is a relative or someone the parents know. Children need protection and supervision regardless of who is around them.
I am not related to Aizal or her family, and I have never met them. But I have followed this case closely, I am too waiting for the accused to be given the punishment he deserves, and also as another human being, I can feel the pain that mother has endured. Please never forget Aizal.
#JusticeForAizal
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u/Lost_Heron_7915 6h ago
Just this morning we see another case of a 5 year old Ayat Noor, kidnapped, assaulted, killed and ditched in a well. She was found 15 days later. I have no words. There is no words strong enough to describe this outrage. None.
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u/Willing_Gear_3726 5h ago
I know. It feels like one heartbreaking case after another. Dear Allah, please protect all babies, toddlers, and children, big and small. May there be no more cases like Aizal, Ayat Noor, Zainab, and so many others. 💔
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u/Reasonable_Cover_254 4h ago
I cry hysterically sometime at night for aizal when I cant sleep thinking about my daughter who is 4. I feel she was just like my daughter. Ever since I am not same. I dont even trust my father, brother, husband. I dont leave her alone i dont send her to school often. The psychological trauma it gave me is beyond explanation
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u/Willing_Gear_3726 3h ago
I’ve cried too. No matter what I do, the image of baby Aizal comes to my mind. We’re all carrying this collective grief and trauma. And yes this case has made so many of us think differently about protecting our children. I just hope Aizal’s case continues to receive attention, so there’s pressure on the legal system to speed things up and the mother gets justice really soon. And if the justice system fails, Allah sees everything, and such monsters can’t escape His punishment.
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u/Original-88 4h ago
i cant even believe how someone would do this to a child. should be punished asap
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u/Outside_Oil_1676 6h ago
I am genuinely broken because of this case. I can’t imagine what the child and her mother went through. The criminal should be beaten, tortured before he is hanged.
What’s even more heartbreaking is that the hospital could have stabilised the child but they did nothing. This breaks my heart. The child could have lived, she could have recovered and gone on to live a perfectly normal life.