MULTAN: Pakistan’s police said they were searching for members of a gang accused of abusing minors and making pornographic videos in a marriage hall in the eastern Punjab province.
Four suspects from the group were already arrested in a raid late Friday in the Sahiwal district, said officer Umar Daraz. The men were presented before a court on Saturday, allowing police to question them for four days.
Daraz said police seized 46 pornographic videos from cell phones and a USB drive, which allegedly show the suspects sodomizing boys aged between eight and 12 years.
Initial questioning revealed that the one of the gang members is a vendor at the city’s main bus terminal, he said, adding that the man would lure boys who were runaways or begging into the marriage hall. Evidence indicates more suspects are involved in the crime, and police are searching for them, Daraz said.
Earlier this year, federal investigators arrested two men on suspicion of links to an international child pornography network. Investigations in that case revealed that one of the men was posting child pornography videos on the dark web.
Child abuse is not uncommon in parts of Pakistan, where parliament has recently passed laws to increase punishments for those convicted of such crimes.
Pakistan police arrest alleged child abusers, seek suspects
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Pakistan police arrest alleged child abusers, seek suspects
- Police say searching for members of gang accused of abusing minors and making videos in a marriage hall in Punjab province
- Four suspects from group arrested in a raid late Friday in the Sahiwal district, presented before a court on Saturday
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
