A 14-year-old boy was allegedly gang-raped in Deh 325 near Samaro town of Umerkot district, the station house officer (SHO) Umerkot said on Wednesday.

SHO Aziz Seenhrio told Dawn that the two accused took the victim to a deserted place and allegedly raped him.

The official said a first information report (FIR) of the incident has been filed under Sections 377 [unnatural offences], 342 [punishment for wrongful confinement] and 34 [acts done by several persons In furtherance of common intention] of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on complaint of the victim's father.

One accused had been arrested while search for the other was underway, said police, adding that they were awaiting the medical reports of the boy conducted earlier in the day at Taluka Hospital.

Kashif Bajeer, regional representative of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), expressed his anger and grief over the incident and said the Mirpurkhas region, comprising Umerkot, Thar and Mirpurkhas itself, has become infamous for cases of child abuse.

He demanded strict implementation of the existing laws or framing fresh laws so that such inhumane incidents could be curbed and those found guilty should be awarded exemplary punishment.

Since the beginning of 2018, there has been a marked upsurge in the reporting of sexual abuse cases across Pakistan. The brutal rape and murder of Zainab Ansari in Kasur earlier this month in particular shocked the entire country, with #JusticeforZainab becoming the rallying cry in a nationwide drive to end violence against children.