Islamabad, Oct 28 — Pakistan is among the South Asian countries most affected by online child exploitation, with a comparative study recording approximately 41.3 cases of exposure to child sexual abuse material per 10,000 people in the country, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said.
In its latest report, the HRCP said that findings highlighted Pakistan's role not only as a site of victimisation but also as a node in global networks of demand, production and circulation of such material, facilitated by largely unregulated digital infrastructures.
Referring to media reports, it said that in May 2025, Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) quietly dismantled one of the country's most disturbing child sexual exploitation networks in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab province.
The rights body noted that the operation uncovered an international group, allegedly led by a German national, that had established a so-called 'fight club' to lure, groom and exploit children aged between six and ten.
"The club, equipped with digital cameras and high-speed internet, provided what officials called 'state-of-the-art facilities' while secretly recording and live-streaming abuse on the dark web to international buyers. Investigators confirmed the footage was sold for thousands of dollars and that at least 50 children were victimised," it said.
Highlighting the alarming scale of child abuse documented by civil society organisations, the HRCP cited Islamabad-based organisation Sahil's annual report, Cruel Numbers 2024, which recorded 3,364 reported cases of child abuse nationwide, including sexual abuse, abduction and child marriage.
"However, these figures reflect only reported incidents. Under-reporting, stigma, and bureaucratic opacity mean most cases, especially those involving online abuse, remain unreported," it noted
The rights body cited concerns by digital rights experts who warned that children are exposed to inappropriate content at an unprecedented scale in Pakistan, with risks increasing alongside technological access.
"Widespread connectivity, weak regulatory oversight, and limited digital literacy have made Pakistani children particularly vulnerable to grooming, blackmail, sexual coercion, and trafficking through online channels," it added.
The HRCP said the failure to protect children online was not merely a technological lapse but a broader crisis of governance and rights.
It highlighted that online child sexual exploitation and abuse in Pakistan lie at the intersection of state accountability, technological regulation and social silence, with such cases being "condemned when exposed, then allowed to fade from view."
"In Pakistan, cases such as Muzaffargarh are routinely described as incidents of 'child pornography' in media, public discourse, and legal contexts. This term misrepresents the crime, as pornography suggests consent, performance, and consumption -- none of which apply to children. Such framing shifts focus from the child to the material, as though the main harm lies in circulation rather than the coercion and violence involved. It also overlooks the acts of grooming, manipulation, threats, and economic exploitation that occur before recording," the HRCP stated.
Emphasising that online child sexual exploitation is not merely content to be removed or a cyber offence to be investigated, the rights body said it constitutes a violation of children's rights, dignity, bodily integrity, privacy and childhood.
"Until Pakistan's laws, institutions, data systems, and public discourse reflect this reality, children will remain unprotected in digital spaces," it added.