Pakistani protesters angry over the rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl have attacked a police station and another government office, resulting in the deaths of at least two people.
Senior police officer Imran Nawaz Khan told RFE/RL that the attack on the police station occurred on January 10 in Punjab Province’s district of Kasur.
Another official declined to say whether the two deaths were the result of police gunshots or other actions.
The violence broke out hours before the planned funeral of the girl, Zainab Ansari, whose body was found on January 9 in a garbage bin.
Local residents said the 8-year-old had gone missing after attending Koranic studies on January 4 while her parents were in Saudi Arabia to perform the umrah pilgrimage.
The girl's parents flew back to Pakistan on January 10.
"I want justice! I want justice!" the girl's mother told reporters at Islamabad's international airport.
"For the last two years, we are living in fear. Parents are scared to send their kids outside," her father said.
The abduction and killing drew widespread outrage in Pakistan after closed-circuit video that appeared to show her being led away by a stranger was shown on social media.
Nawaz Khan said one suspect has been arrested.
He added that 57 others had been detained but released after "their DNA did not match."
Ansari's case has attracted the attention of the country's civilian and military leadership, with Pakistan's chief justice calling for a police report within 24 hours, according to a Supreme Court statement.
A spokesman for the military tweeted that the army chief had directed "all-out support to civil administration to arrest the criminals and bringing them to exemplary justice."
Opposition leader Imran Khan urged authorities to act swiftly, saying in a Twitter message that "the condemnable and horrific rape of the minor had once again exposed how vulnerable children are."
With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa