A Community Shaken by Tragedy
Gilgit has once again been rocked by a deeply disturbing incident. Raja Kashan, a first-year student, was allegedly abducted by his friends, taken to the Sakar Koe bridge, and subjected to a brutal rape attempt. Reports suggest that, in a desperate attempt to save his dignity, Kashan either jumped into the river to escape or was killed and thrown into it. The police have arrested two suspects and placed them on physical remand while investigations are underway.
SSP Ishaq Hussain confirmed in an interview with Daily K2 Digital that the police were working to establish whether the victim was murdered before being thrown into the river or if he took his own life to escape the assault. The case remains under investigation, but the horrific nature of the incident has already triggered shock, fear, and outrage across the region.
This case is not an isolated tragedy. Gilgit-Baltistan has witnessed a string of similar horrific incidents over the years. In recent months, a boy from Daniyore was killed in a comparable situation. The region still recalls the haunting 2003 case of Muslim Khan, a student who jumped into the Gilgit River to escape a rape attempt, and the 2015 case of Hasnain, a minor who was raped and brutally murdered in Gilgit.
These recurring crimes highlight a disturbing pattern of unchecked child abuse, exploitation, and violence in the region.
In 2017, the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly passed the Child Protection Response Act, and a Child Protection Commission was established. However, because of the government’s lack of interest, inadequate funding, and absence of political will, the commission remains non-functional. The law, while promising on paper, has not been implemented in practice, leaving children in GB dangerously unprotected.
Beyond the reported cases, there exists a silent epidemic of child abuse in Gilgit-Baltistan. Local communities acknowledge that child abuse cases are widespread, yet most incidents go unreported. Families often avoid reporting abuse unless it ends in murder, due to fear of social stigma, “bad name” in society, and the absence of a protective legal environment.
A chilling term used in GB, “BK (Balo Khatar),” literally meaning the knife of child (boys), reflects how child abusers are perceived in society. The very existence of such a term shows how deep-rooted and normalized the problem has become.
Drug abuse adds another dangerous layer to the crisis. Many young people in GB are falling into addiction, creating conditions where exploitation and abuse become even more rampant. Drug networks and predators often target vulnerable youth, pushing them into cycles of exploitation and violence.
The community’s demand is clear: enough is enough. Robust and urgent action is needed to protect children from such heinous crimes. A comprehensive child protection system should be developed and effectively enforced. Key measures must include: establishing properly resourced and staffed child protection units across all districts of GB to handle prevention, reporting, and response; ensuring coordinated action between police, social welfare, health departments, schools, civil society, and the judiciary for holistic child protection; activating the Child Protection Commission and enforcing the law without political delays or bureaucratic hurdles; educating communities about child rights, reporting mechanisms, and the consequences of abuse to break the silence surrounding the issue; launching de-addiction programs, youth counseling, and community rehabilitation to curb drug abuse, which exacerbates child vulnerability; creating child-friendly reporting and protection systems so that families are not discouraged by fear of stigma or retaliation; and ensuring perpetrators face swift and exemplary punishment to deter future crimes.
Protecting children is not only the state’s duty but also a collective responsibility of families, communities, civil society, the media, and religious institutions. Unless child abuse is recognized as an urgent social and human rights crisis, the tragedies will continue.
The brutal case of Raja Kashan is a painful reminder that Gilgit-Baltistan cannot afford silence, apathy, or weak responses any longer. The time to act is now—before more innocent lives are lost to neglect, abuse, and systemic failures.
