Child abuse in Pakistan, including physical, sexual, and emotional violence, along with exploitation through child labor and trafficking, remains prevalent despite legal frameworks. Issues like entrenched stigma and weak enforcement hinder reporting, leading to numerous unreported cases annually. Recently, Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency revealed a significant child exploitation case involving an online network and the arrest of a man in Rawalpindi for trapping and blackmailing minors through fake social media identities.
Investigators discovered over 600 indecent videos of children on the man’s devices, exposing a pattern where he posed as a girl on Instagram to lure boys, record explicit material, and coerce them into sending more under threats of exposure. This case sheds light on the extensive online child exploitation in Pakistan and the ease with which predators can harm children through digital platforms. In another disturbing incident in Karachi, a suspected serial predator was arrested for allegedly abusing dozens of young victims over several years, with DNA evidence linking him to multiple cases.
Data from the Sustainable Social Development Organisation highlighted the grim reality of child protection in Punjab province, with over 4,150 reported cases of violence against children in the first half of 2025. Shockingly, an average of 23 children face violence daily in the province, yet convictions remain scarce, with only 12 recorded across all categories. Various forms of abuse, including sexual abuse, trafficking, labor exploitation, and child marriage, show dismal conviction rates, indicating systemic failures in prevention and prosecution.
