London, April 15 (NationPress) Child exploitation in Pakistan is alarmingly pervasive, involving physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, alongside exploitation via child labor and trafficking. Although there are legal protections in place, deep-rooted stigma, insufficient enforcement, and cultural obstacles continue to obstruct reporting efforts, resulting in thousands of unreported incidents annually, as highlighted in a recent report.

As reported by the UK-based 'Asian Lite', on February 2, Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) unveiled one of the most severe child exploitation cases in the nation—an extensive online network—triggered by the arrest of a man in Rawalpindi allegedly involved in ensnaring and blackmailing minors through deceptive social media profiles.

“Authorities discovered over 600 indecent videos of children on his devices, indicating a methodical scheme where he impersonated a girl on Instagram to attract boys, record explicit content, and subsequently threaten them with exposure unless they provided more material. The investigation revealed he had targeted numerous minors utilizing this tactic and maintained active communication with accomplices for sharing, purchasing, and selling child sexual abuse material. This case underscores the alarming extent of online child exploitation in Pakistan and the alarming ease with which predators manipulate and harm children through digital channels,” the report stated.

“Just weeks earlier, in what seems to be the most extensive child abuse case revealed in Karachi, authorities detained a suspected serial offender whose alleged actions span several years and involve dozens, potentially exceeding a hundred, young victims. He was apprehended on January 17, 2026, in Surjani Town, facing accusations of abducting boys aged 10 to 14 from various neighborhoods, assaulting them, and returning them to their original locations. DNA evidence has already connected him to at least seven cases between 2020 and 2025, and multiple children have identified him,” it further noted.

According to a fact sheet published by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO) utilizing district-level police data from November 25, 2025, the report paints a grim picture of child protection in Pakistan's Punjab province, where more than 4,150 instances of violence against children were logged within the first half of 2025.

Data reveals that approximately 23 children experience violence every day in the province.

The report additionally highlighted that despite thousands of FIRs and challenges in court, the rate of convictions remains exceedingly low, with only 12 documented across all categories.

“Sexual abuse alone accounted for 717 cases with zero convictions. Trafficking, labor exploitation, physical abuse, abduction, and child marriage similarly displayed disheartening outcomes, with the majority of cases stalled in trial and many offenses grossly underreported. Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Sialkot emerged as significant hotspots, highlighting systemic failures in prevention, investigation, and prosecution,” it concluded.