Paedophile arrested in Pakistan's Faisalabad, sexual abuse videos recovered

After receiving a tip-off, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) conducted a raid in Faisalabad, arrested a paedophile and recovered videos of sexual abuse which he had made.

The man was involved in sexually abusing young children and allegedly selling the videos of abuse, Samaa TV reported citing Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials.

The FIA team had raided the location in Faisalabad's Sarfaraz Colony on a tip-off from US agencies. The accused, identified as Shahid, admitted to the sexual abuse but denied selling the videos.

"He was making and uploading videos due to which his IP flashed on the system and we arrested him," an FIA official said.

The cybercrime team also recovered a large quantity of "immoral material" from the possession of the accused, FIA officials added.

Last month, the police had arrested at least four persons in connection with an active paedophile and child pornography ring operating in Pakistan's Punjab.

Pakistan continues to witness a rise in crimes against children including child sexual abuse, abduction and child marriages.

As per reports, a total number of 2,960 cases were reported in Pakistan of child abuse in 2020. This was an increase of four per cent as compared to 2019. Of these victims, 51 per cent were girls and 49 per cent were boys, The Express Tribune reported.

Out of the reported cases, 985 were of sodomy, 787 were rape, 89 were pornography and child sexual abuse and 80 were of murder after sexual abuse. Cases of abduction, missing children and child marriages were 834, 345 and 119, respectively.

( With inputs from ANI )