Senate body says concerned at surge in child abuse cases

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights expressed serious concern over the surge in child abuse cases, weak prosecution and low conviction rates, revealing that 855 cases of peer-to-peer child abuse were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2025 and more than 17, 000 cases nationwide, allegedly linked to minors’ exposure to explicit adult content. The Committee met here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Samina Mumtaz Zehri to review child protection measures, digital safety protocols, and labour welfare safeguards across the country. The committee was attended by Senators Aimal Wali Khan, Quratul Ain Marri, Hafiz Abdul Karim, Atta ul Haq, and Masroor Hussain. The DIG Investigation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the Deputy Secretary Home Department presented an operational status report detailing actions against child abuse and preventive strategy frameworks. The Chief Welfare Protection Officer highlighted that under the Child Protection Act passed in 2010, multi-stakeholder mechanisms involving police, schools, District Commissioner offices, and community social workers are actively addressing child abuse across educational institutions, madrasas, child labor, and street begging. Officials noted that community awareness driven by social media has increased public reporting and trust in official channels. However, the Director General Child Protection expressed severe concern over a surge in peer-to-peer child abuse linked to minors accessing explicit adult content at home, reporting 855 cases in KP in 2025 and over 1, 7000 nationwide. During detailed deliberations on provincial reporting and legal performance, terms of Reference (TORs) The Committee directed KP officials to submit the exact TORs governing community-level child protection units. Prosecution & Conviction Operational reports revealed that out of 625 registered cases in KP (with 576 cases processed and over 300 submitted for court trial), convictions remain at approximately 6 percent. The Committee expressed serious concern over the absence of a localized Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in KP, noting that critical evidence degrades during transport delays to external facilities. Senator Aimal Wali questioned how, despite Punjab possessing specialized forensic laboratories, over 12, 000 cases remain unresolved. He further pointed out that procedural loopholes and flawed investigative reporting consistently led to week prosecution. Representatives from the Punjab Prosecution Department confirmed that the last capital punishment execution occurred in 2019, leaving sentences unenforced. The Committee commended the exceptional bravery of a 4-year-old child abuse survivor of Westminster School, Islamabad, with members resolving to personally visit the young victim. Committee members expressed strong displeasure over non-reporting by school administration. The forum recommended the strict shutdown of any school failing to enforce child protection policies to serve as a deterrent example. Senator Hafiz Karim underscored that the lack of enforcement, remarking, Crimes have defined penalties, but implementation remains severely lacking in our country. Following a briefing by Balochistan representatives, the Committee resolved to undertake an official oversight visit to Balochistan. The Committee expressed grave dissatisfaction with the Punjab government’s prosecution response regarding the killing of Javid Rasheed, taking serious notice of misleading statements. Senator Aimal Wali observed that official misstatements effectively protect perpetrators. In response, the Chair directed Punjab government officials to re-examine relevant statutory provisions and move immediately to terminate the bail granted to the accused. Furthermore, the Committee directed IG Punjab to establish continuous coordination with the prosecutor’s office to ensure vigilant oversight. Issuing a stern directive across all administrative tiers, the Committee instructed the Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights, to issue formal instructions to all provincial governments requiring that departmental representatives attending parliamentary meetings be fully prepared, warning against the submission of incomplete documentation or unverified accounts. Representatives from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) briefed the Committee on enforcement actions under Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), which empowers the authority to restrict harmful online content, operate dedicated complaint portals, and process reports received from law enforcement agencies. PTA noted operational challenges in deleting or blocking content hosted on foreign platforms like YouTube, which require extended processing timelines. In response to inquiries by Senator AimalWali regarding pop-up adult advertisements, PTA stated that it currently lacks technical mechanisms to prevent automated pop-ups and functions strictly as a content-regulation body. Following directives from Senator Quratul Ain, the Committee instructed PTA to revise its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in line with parliamentary guidelines. Representatives from the National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) confirmed ongoing coordination with provincial departments and highlighted NCRC’s statutory authority to summon departments regarding child rights violations. The Chair noted a lack of coordination and communication among interrelated government bodies. Additionally, DG Zainab Alert Response and Recovery Agency (ZARRA) reported that over 80 percent of reported child abduction and missing children’s cases are actively resolved. The committee recommends scaling promotional advertisements to increase public awareness of all helplines or Apps. Priority should be given to social media, recognizing its role as the leading medium for contemporary communication, viewing, and user engagement. The Committee reviewed the suicide of a Gujranwala Waste Management Company (GWMC) worker who was subjected to employer misbehaviour and wage delays after raising salary grievances. In compliance with Committee directives, the CEO of GWMC produced the deceased worker’s brother before the forum and confirmed that financial redress—including a death grant, pension allocation, and a residential plot allotment under social security provisions—had been processed following parliamentary intervention. Addressing delays in justice delivery, the Committee Chair referred the matter to the DIG Investigations to conduct a probe into procedural lapses and submit a comprehensive report at the next meeting alongside the local Police Station SHO and the Deputy Commissioner. The committee was attended and briefed by the Secretary, M/o Human Rights, and all concerned officials from ICT, KP, and Punjab province. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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