A Pakistani court has sentenced a serial killer to death after finding him guilty of killing eight children, including a girl, 7, whose rape and murder drew nationwide condemnation.
The court announced its decision on Saturday in the presence of Mohammad Imran, 24, who had pleaded guilty during the five-day trial, public prosecutor Ehtesham Qadir said outside a high-security prison in the eastern city of Lahore, where the trial was held.
Imran was arrested in January, two weeks after he raped and killed Zainab Ansari and threw her body on to a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur. Angered by the murder, residents attacked a police station, sparking clashes in which two people were killed.
Zainab disappeared in the first week of January while walking to a nearby home for Quranic studies.
Her parents were on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time and she was left with relatives. They quickly returned home but by that time their daughter's body had been found and preparations for her funeral and burial were under way amid tight security.
Since Zainab's killer left no clue, police and investigators obtained DNA samples from hundreds of suspects, and Imran's sample matched, leading to his arrest.
Imran confessed to the crime and said he lured the girl by telling her that her parents had come back and that she should go with him to meet them.
Mr Qadir said Imran had the right to appeal but he may not challenge the verdict as he confessed to his crimes during the trial. "Imran even today told the court that he killed the eight girls," he said.
He did not say how the man's execution would be carried out, but many Pakistanis have demanded he be publicly hanged. The horror of Zainab's killing in January was brought home for Pakistanis by a photo of her that went viral on social media, showing the smiling girl in her favourite bright pink coat, with a pink barrette holding back her hair.
TV channels broadcast the photo alongside pictures of her body, found on January 9.
Shortly after Imran's conviction, Zainab's parents expressed their satisfaction, saying they received justice. However, they said Imran should be hanged in a public place so that others learn a lesson from his fate.
Imran "should be stoned to death", her mother, Nusrat Ansari, said.
Zainab's father, Mohammed Amin Ansari, was present when the court announced the decision. He thanked the judiciary, government and investigators for giving him speedy justice. He also called for a public execution.
"My daughter has gone, she will not come back, but I want to save daughters of other people," he said.
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Read more:
Rape and murder of girl, 7, sparks child sex abuse debate in Pakistan
Father of murdered girl blames Pakistan police for slow action
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
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Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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