KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police?s claims of recovering body of four-year-old Asma, who was raped then murdered in Mardan, within 24 hours have proven to be false.

Asma was reported missing from the Gujjar Garhi area in Mardan on January 13, and recovered dead the next day from the nearby sugarcane fields. The murderer remains at large.

On January 17, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairperson Imran Khan, while addressing the joint opposition rally on Lahore?s Mall Road, had claimed that Asma?s parents had informed the police that she has been missing on January 13. ?The police then reached [the site] and worked with [Asma?s] parents. The body was recovered within 24 hours,? he had said and praised the prompt action of the police.

However, Geo News Anchor Rabia Anum falsified the claims after speaking to Asma?s family in Mardan. In a segment on her show, Lekin, she spoke to Asma?s family members about the search for minor?s body.

Asma?s uncle Muhammad Zahir Khan shared that the minor had left her house and family found in the evening that she has been missing. ?We told the police and they asked us to inform them as soon as we find something. The next day, we found the child from the fields. Our women found the child, we then informed the police and took Asma?s body to the hospital,? he said.

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The same version of the events was repeated by Asma?s paternal grandfather. He explained that when Asma went missing, the family reported the incident to the police. However, the police told the family to inform them when there is another development.

?The police didn?t conduct any raids rather we kept on trying to find her,? the grandfather said, adding that two groups of search parties were then made. The group of men searched one place, while a group of 20 to 25 women searched in the fields. ?The body was found from further into the fields,? he shared.

?We found the body ourselves. We took the body to the police station first and then the hospital.?

However, Asma?s death has led to other children of the family in a state of shock and fear. ?The children have stopped going to the school,? Khan added.

Moreover, the family members also shared that the KP government has not provided any help to them in this regard.

Both the uncle and the grandfather remarked that they don?t suspect anyone. ?How can we suspect anyone? If anyone has a problem with me then why that person would avenge a four-year-old child?? said Asma?s grandfather.