Pakistan, Nov. 7 -- Three and a half months. That is how long it reportedly took police in Sahiwal to register a rape and abduction case involving a 14-year-old schoolgirl. According to her mother's complaint, the teenager was allegedly assaulted inside her home before being abducted at gunpoint. The girl's whereabouts remain unknown.

That a child could disappear while the wheels of justice turned at such a leisurely pace demands an explanation from the highest levels of Punjab's police command.

What happened during those months? When was the matter first brought to police attention? What efforts were made to trace the missing girl? These questions assume greater urgency in light of the Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery Act, 2020, ena...