5 more arrested in Pakistan child-abuse scandal
Print Edition
PAKISTANI police yesterday arrested five more people over a major child sex abuse scandal after a lawyer for the victims accused them of protecting culprits and activists said the case was just the tip of the iceberg.
At least 280 children were filmed being sexually abused by a gang of 25 men who used the hundreds of videos they produced to blackmail the youngsters’ parents, according to Latif Ahmed Sara, a lawyer representing the victims.
Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province where the abuse took place, has ordered an independent judicial inquiry and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed stern action against the culprits.
Police yesterday arrested five more suspects, taking the total in custody to 12.
The case has provoked expressions of outrage in Pakistani newspapers, with many suggesting a politically-influenced cover up. The village at the heart of the scandal, Hussain Khanwala, lies in the Punjab stronghold of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party.
Sara accused the police of dragging their feet — some of the videos date back to 2007.
“The police are protecting the criminals, they are supporting them and have provided them an opportunity to escape the village,” Sara told reporters.
The head of Punjab’s Child Protection Bureau, Saba Sadiq, described the case as “the largest child abuse scandal in Pakistan’s history.”
But an initial police probe, carried out last week at the behest of the provincial government described the claims as “baseless,” a conclusion rejected by media and rights activists.
District police chief Rai Baber Saeed said they were doing their best to catch the culprits, but insisted there were no more than 30 victims and accused activists and media of exaggerating.
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