LAHORE: A Pakistani court acquitted 12 men of child sex abuse and blackmail charges on Saturday, the latest verdict in a massive pedophilia scandal that rocked the country in August 2015.
The abuse and extortion scandal, which authorities have called the largest in Pakistan’s history, allegedly involved hundreds of victims in Punjab province.
Two of the accused were jailed for life in April last year.
Judge Chaudhry Ilyas acquitted the men of “sexual abuse of a young boy and making a video to blackmail his family,” a court official told AFP.
Prosecutors produced 16 witnesses against the accused men, but could not prove the charges, the official said. Another court official confirmed the details.
In the village of Hussain Khanwala in Kasur, southwest of Lahore, videos were made of at least 280 children being sexually abused by a gang who blackmailed their parents by threatening to leak the videos.
The police, who had conspicuously failed to act despite pleas from some parents, eventually made dozens of arrests after clashes between relatives and authorities brought the issue into the media spotlight.
In March 2016, Pakistan’s Senate also passed a bill that criminalized sexual assault against minors, child pornography and trafficking for the first time — previously only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law.
Last week a court handed four death sentences to a man charged with raping and murdering a six-year-old girl, in a case that shocked the country and sparked major riots in his home district.
Imran Ali, 24, was on trial for killing Zainab Fatima Ameen in Kasur last month.
He faces further charges in the cases of at least seven other children attacked in the Punjab city — five of whom were murdered — in a spate of assaults that had stoked fears a serial child killer was on the loose.
Ali has confessed to all eight attacks, including the death of Zainab.
Pakistan acquits 12 men accused of child sex abuse
Pakistan acquits 12 men accused of child sex abuse
Pakistan extends ban on Indian-registered aircraft through January, aviation authority says
- Move marks the seventh extension of the ban after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
- It has forced Indian airlines to reroute flights, raising fuel use, travel times and operating costs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan extended a ban on Indian-registered aircraft from using its airspace until late January, it said on Wednesday, prolonging restrictions that have disrupted flight routes for Indian airlines.
Pakistan first imposed the restriction on April 24 as part of a series of tit-for-tat measures announced by both countries days after an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denied any involvement and called for a credible, international investigation into the attack, which killed 26 tourists.
Tensions escalated after India targeted several sites in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, triggering intense missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire brokered by the United States took effect on May 10.
“Pakistan’s airspace will continue to remain closed for Indian-registered aircraft,” the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a statement.
“The restriction will remain in effect from December 25, 2025, to January 27, 2026,” it continued. “The restriction will apply to aircraft owned, operated or leased by Indian airlines, including military flights.”
This marks the seventh extension of the ban, which has forced Indian airlines to reroute international flights, increasing fuel consumption, travel times and operating costs.
Earlier this month, Pakistan accused India of blocking humanitarian assistance destined for Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah, saying a special Pakistani aircraft carrying aid was forced to wait more than 60 hours for overflight clearance.
Pakistan later sent relief supplies and rescue teams to the island nation by sea, officials said.
