Body of missing five-year-old girl recovered in KP’s Haripur: police

Body of missing five-year-old girl recovered in KP's Haripur: police.

Key points

• Muhammad Sadaqat Published August 25, 2026 Updated August 25, 2026 05: 20pm.
• Police initially began an inquiry under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
• District Headquarters Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Munawar Afridi remarked the board of female doctors that conducted the autopsy was still compiling the post-mortem report.
• KP Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi additionally took notice of the incident and expressed deep sorrow and robust condemnation in an official note on Tuesday.
• The DPO remarked police had initially arrested three suspects, one of whom recorded a confessional statement before a duty magistrate on Saturday.

Muhammad Sadaqat Published August 25, 2026 Updated August 25, 2026 05: 20pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

PESHAWAR: Police and rescue authorities on Monday night recovered the body of a girl who had gone missing from outside her home in a semi-urban area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Haripur district two weeks ago.

According to rescue and medical sources, the body was buried after an autopsy. The detailed post-mortem report was awaited.

"It would therefore be premature to determine the nature of injuries sustained by the victim or the exact cause of her death, " he informed Dawn.

Speaking to the media at a press conference in Haripur on Tuesday, District Police Officer (DPO) Shafiullah Gandapur remarked the five-year-old went missing from outside her home at around 6pm on Aug 10.

Police initially began an inquiry under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). It deals with investigations into cognisable cases, and formally registered a first information report (FIR) under Section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), relating to kidnapping or abduction with intent to murder, on Aug 12.

In practice, the move followed the collection of CCTV footage and geofencing of the area, according to police.

For context, the DPO remarked police had initially arrested three suspects, one of whom recorded a confessional statement before a duty magistrate on Saturday.

According to the statement, four suspects were involved in abducting the girl and taking her to an area near Model Town, where the suspect and another accused allegedly sexually assaulted her.

According to Gandapur, none of the three suspects initially arrested by police disclosed where they had left the victim after the assault. Nevertheless, during a search of the area, police obtained CCTV footage from another house. It assisted them trace a fourth suspect.

Acting on information provided by the fourth suspect, police recovered the five-year-old's body from an unused well at a warehouse near one of the link roads leading to Haripur University, the DPO remarked.

He remarked the suspect had thrown the victim into the well after allegedly raping her and had attempted to conceal the body with foliage.

Meanwhile, the DPO continued doctors had collected body samples for DNA and forensic analysis.

Responding to a question, he described the case as "sensitive and complex" and remarked a local team of investigators, including Superintendent of Police (SP) Security Samina Zafar and women officers from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and IT wings, had diligently traced the suspects and recovered the body.

While the fourth was being interrogated to gather further evidence and bring all those involved to justice, he remarked, three of the suspects had been sent to prison on judicial remand.

"We have not closed the investigation as we expect some more details, " he continued.

KP Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi additionally took notice of the incident and expressed deep sorrow and robust condemnation in an official note on Tuesday. He directed that a special investigation team be formed to probe the matter.

He termed the incident "sad and heartbreaking", adding that those responsible would be given "the strictest punishment according to the law".

Afridi expressed his sympathies and condolences to the girl's family, saying, "Such heinous crimes against children will not be tolerated under any circumstances."

Workers of different political parties and civil society organisations had blocked Haripur's GT Road on Sunday to protest the delay in the recovery of the girl, expressing a lack of confidence in the investigation.

In short, body of missing five-year-old girl recovered in KP's Haripur: police is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.