NCCIA arrests father for making abusive videos of his own children for online sale

ISLAMABAD – A father has been arrested for allegedly producing sexually exploitative videos of his own children and selling them online as part of a wider network, a senior National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) official said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, NCCIA Additional Director Shoaib Khan said the arrested man was making videos of his own children. Describing it as an unusual case, he said the children were aged between five and six, and that the videos were produced and sold through the Telegram app. A group had formed around circulating and selling such material, he added.

Khan said the network had also filmed the abuse of animals. He said nothing of this nature had previously surfaced in Pakistan’s history, and that the identities of those involved in such cases were not disclosed. According to him, the main suspect belonged to Skardu, while investigations were under way in Multan, Islamabad and southern Punjab.

Online sexual harassment case

Khan said the NCCIA had also arrested a suspect in an online sexual harassment case a day earlier, following a complaint from Karachi. He said action would also be taken against parents who knew of crimes involving their children but failed to report them. “In cases of sexual harassment, parents know what their child is doing,” he said.

The agency is launching an awareness campaign at universities and will also teach parents how to monitor what their children view on mobile phones. Khan said he would personally visit schools in Islamabad to raise awareness among parents, and that the campaign would later be expanded nationwide.

Crackdown on call centres

Khan said NCCIA Islamabad had also carried out crackdowns on call centres and identified a large number of such facilities in the capital. Seven FIRs had recently been registered, and between 13,000 and 14,000 devices had been recovered in these cases.

He warned the public not to share one-time passwords (OTPs) or PINs with anyone, noting that fake banking websites had been created that can look identical to genuine ones.

On Chinese nationals arrested in Pakistan, Khan said they would be punished under Pakistani law. After completing their sentences, their visas would be cancelled and they would be deported.