Police found the body of an eight-year-old girl in Hangu district's Saro Khel village on Sunday who they suspected was sexually assaulted and murdered, District Police Officer (DPO) Shahid Ahmed said.

The body was recovered from some bushes, Ahmed said, adding that the corpse had been shifted to the district headquarter hospital for medical examination.

The minor girl had gone to a shop on Saturday afternoon to buy snacks but did not return, the DPO told DawnNewsTV. Her family and area residents had started to look for her but after failing to find her, they informed police on Sunday morning.

A first information report has been lodged under Sections 50 (exposure to seduction) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection Act and 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd) of the Pakistan Penal Code, DPO Ahmed said.

The DPO said that the bruises on the girl's body indicated that she had been raped and tortured before she was strangled to death, adding that a bullet wound was also visible. He said that the police were monitoring two people as persons of interest in the case but were waiting for the medical report after which further investigation could be held.

Samples from the victim's body have been collected and sent for examination, the DPO said.

District headquarters hospital's Dr Israr Hussain said that a detailed and final report will be received in 24 hours.

With additional input from Umar Bacha.