FIA launches crackdown against child pornography

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a crackdown against child pornography in the country due to the growing incidents of child molestation in Pakistan, according to media reports.

The FIA has formed a two-member committee from its cybercrimes department to effectively tackle this issue. A notification in this connection has also been issued and all zonal heads have been directed to compile reports of all reported cases regarding child abuse and pornography in the country.

On Sunday, the FIA on Sunday nabbed an alleged member of a group involved in sharing online child pornography after acting on a tip-off received from the Canadian Interpol office.

FIA Cybercrimes Division Deputy Director Khalid Anis said that around 60 gigabytes of pornographic data were extracted from the laptop and computer owned by the accused, identified as Taimur Maqsood. He also informed that the nabbed accused was an electrical engineer by profession.

“The suspect belongs to an international ring that shares porn videos among themselves,” Anis said, adding that the police was currently trying to find the exact number of members involved in this criminal activity. He also said that the groups worked as a syndicate and comprised of members from Pakistan, Canada, New Zealand and Sweden.”

An official from FIA said that the suspect was arrested after being traced through his PTCL number and his IP address, adding that the accused, who had joined the group two years ago, was arrested from Jhang’s Satellite Town area.

During interrogation, the accused told the police that he watched the videos for mental gratification, adding, “After joining one group on KIK messenger, I found links to many other groups that also shared child pornography along with other videos.”

The individual was identified by the Canadian authorities after conducting an operation in Ottawa. They also passed on the information to FIA.

Anti-child pornography laws in Pakistan

Punishments for child pornography was introduced in Pakistan’s law after the Kasur child sexual abuse case of 2015 surfaced to the disbelief of the entire country. Another bill in this connection was also tabled by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior in October 2017 which extended the prison sentence of offenders from 14 to 20 years.