Pakistan arrests two men in child abuse network

Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) arrested two men suspected of involvement in a network that allegedly recorded, shared, and circulated videos of the sexual abuse of young children.

The investigation began after a social media platform detected suspected child sexual abuse material and reported it to the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

The information was passed to Pakistani authorities, leading to the arrest of the first suspect, Sajid Ali, on October 26. Investigators recovered suspected child sexual abuse material from his mobile phones.

Sajid’s interrogation led to the arrest of a second suspect on October 29. Officials alleged that the second accused had recorded videos of his own very young child and shared them with Sajid, for which he was allegedly paid Rs7,000.

Investigators found that Sajid was active in Telegram groups used to circulate child sexual abuse material. He allegedly contacted members of these groups, claimed to have additional videos, and encouraged others to share similar content.

The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the cybercrime law and the Pakistan Penal Code. The court granted four days’ further physical remand of each suspect, with a directive to produce them again on November 6.