LAHORE(National Times)- Police have arrested a man accused of attempting to sexually assault an 11-year-old girl in Sheikhupura’s Ferozewala, an official told Dawn on Tuesday.

Sheikhupura District Police Officer (DPO) Bilal Zafar Sheikh told Dawn that the incident occurred in the city of Ferozwala on Aug 15 (Saturday), when the girl had gone missing at around 2pm while on the way to her uncle’s house.

As her family searched for her, witnesses directed them to a nearby field, where the suspect was attempting to sexually assault the girl, the DPO said.

He added that the suspect fled when spotted; however, he was later traced and arrested.

Police and the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) secured the crime scene and submitted evidence for forensic analysis, he said, adding that witness statements were also recorded under Section 161 (examination of witnesses by police) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Citing the girl’s medical report, he said the doctors had concluded that there had been an attempt to rape and no signs of hymen rupture were noted.

A first information report was registered on the complaint of the girl’s father under Section 377-B (punishment of unnatural offences) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the DPO said, adding that an investigation was under way.

Punjab has accounted for 80 per cent of 1,914 cases of child abuse reported across the country in the first half of 2026, according to data released by child rights organisation Sahil.

In the province’s Bahawalnagar district, a cleric was arrested by Minchinabad police on July 13 for allegedly sexually assaulting his 14-year-old student over a two-year period and impregnating her.

In June, Sargodha police arrested four suspects in the murder case of a seven-year-old girl, whose body was found in a shop. The prime suspect in the case was accused of trying to rape the girl before killing her.

The police later said the prime suspect was killed “by his accomplices’ firing” during an alleged encounter with the Crime Control Department, after he allegedly escaped police custody.