By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
A human rights report has vindicated claims made by Pakistani locals that a gang operating in their town has abused hundreds of children.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said there was "credible proof" that children in Hussein Khanwala, near the northeastern city of Lahore, were raped and their families blackmailed with videos of the abuse.
Until a scandal erupted over the abuse recently, when the families tried to march to Lahore lodge a protest with the Punjab provincial government, police had allegedly done little to investigate the abuse.
The HRCP's report said “a heinous crime has been committed against children.”
“There is a body of material and credible testimonies indicating not only that a large number of children had been sexually abused and exploited by the accused, but also that this abuse had continued over a period of years – at least since 2010,” the report said.
It claimed there could be hundreds of video clips depicting the abuse but could not give an accurate number of victims, though locals say it is around 200.
The group also rebuffed claims made by the police and arrested suspects that the abuse allegations were cover for a land dispute.
“The references made to a land dispute in the village are irrelevant and nothing can justify avoidance of impartial investigation and prosecution,” Hina Jilani, a Lahore-based human rights activist and head of the fact-finding team said.
She said police could not have been unaware of the rumors and video clips freely circulating in the area and that their failure to take action lends support to accusations of police complicity.
Pakistan has no laws to deal specifically with child abuse and child rights activists say this has led to the acquittal of hundreds of child abuse suspects in recent years.
