Pakistan: Child pornography ring busted in Punjab

Police have arrested at least four persons in connection with an active paedophile and child pornography ring operating in Pakistan's Punjab.

A probe showed that the accused had been involved in sexual acts with young boys since 2018. They allegedly recorded the abuse on their phones, Samaa Tv reported.

"The police have confiscated a number of mobile phones from the four persons already detained by them and found identical content on all phones: at least 46 extreme pornographic videos of local children," a Police official informed.

Officials have also seized a 64GB USB that contained child pornography, he added.

The ring was being operated from a marriage bureau. The police also recovered dozens of videos from them.

Police has not yet been able to reach out or even identify victims of extreme child abuse, Samaa Tv reported citing officials.

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 )