Actor calls for transparency in how cases are handled, appeals to government officials
Actor Sarah Khan demanded urgent action for child safety and called on the government to enforce existing punishments for child sexual abuse, saying she was “ashamed” of the world children were growing up in.
In a series of stories shared on her Instagram, Sarah wrote, “As a mother of two daughters, I feel ashamed that this is the world our children are growing up in. Little children who don’t even know what’s happening to them. I can’t imagine the fear, the pain, or what their parents must live with afterwards.”
The actor continued, “How many more children have to go through something this horrific before we start treating child safety as an EMERGENCY?”
Screengrab: SarahKhan/Instagram
Sharing that she believed those who raped or sexually abused children deserved the severest punishment under the law, Sarah stated, “If the law provides the death penalty for such crimes, enforce it.”
In a follow-up story, the actor addressed officials directly, writing, “We don’t need another statement of condemnation after another child has been abused. We need action before it happens.”
Sarah also pressed for transparency in how cases were handled. “Tell us what is being done to protect our babies, toddlers and young girls. Tell us how these cases are being investigated, how offenders are being prosecuted, and what measures are being taken so that another family doesn’t have to live through this nightmare,” the actor demanded.
Screengrab: SarahKhan/Instagram
She concluded her post with a direct appeal, asking those in power to “please use the power and responsibility you have been given to make our children safer.” She added, “They cannot fight for themselves. We have to fight for them.”
Sarah tagged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Government of Pakistan, and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the post.
The actor’s remarks added to a broader wave of frustration from the country’s entertainment industry, with celebrities including Mahira Khan, Naimal Khawar, and Sonya Hussyn demanding accountability over a string of recent incidents involving the abuse of children. These include the abduction, sexual assault and murder of five-year-old Ayat Noor in Haripur and the sexual assault and murder of a one-and-a-half-year-old girl in Karachi.
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