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Abused and abandoned

Shamil ShamsAugust 20, 2015

Pakistan's independent human rights commission, HRCP, says it has received "credible testimonies" confirming a massive child abuse scandal in Punjab, which the government had earlier played down as a land dispute.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GIN3
Children whose families say have been abused, turn their backs to the camera while they are interviewed by a Reuters correspondent in their village of Husain Khan Wala, Punjab province, Pakistan August 9, 2015 (Photo: REUTERS/Mohsin Raza)
Image: Reuters/M. Raza

"It is clear that a heinous crime has been committed against children," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said in a seven-page report based on the investigations of its fact-finding mission. The HRCP said the authorities refused cooperate with its team.

Earlier this month, shocking revelations about a huge child pornography scandal jolted the Islamic nation, which generally denies such things happen in the country. According to Pakistani media, at least 280 children were filmed being sexually abused by a pedophile gang of 25 men in a village near the eastern city of Kasur. The city is close to Lahore, a political stronghold of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of the Punjab province.

The child sexual abuse started in 2006 and continued until last year, according to local residents and rights activists. The victims, mostly boys below 14 years of age, were forced to have sex, and their videos were then sold in the markets. The gang involved in the alleged abuse blackmailed the minors' parents by threatening to leak the videos.

Arrested gang members of a sexual abuse scandal stand in the police lockup as they speak to the media in Hussain Khanwala village, some 55 kms southwest of Lahore on August 9, 2015 (Photo: Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)
The police arrested some suspects who were later released on bailImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali

Shock, anger and denial

The scandal shocked and angered the country, with child rights activists demanding a proper investigation into the case and severe punishments for the people involved in the crime. However, the government soon played down the seriousness of the scandal. Punjab's law minister, Rana Sanaullah, denied the cases of abuse, saying the reports surfaced because villagers were fighting over land. The police also disputed media reports that the number of victims ran into the hundreds.

"The references made to a land dispute in the village are irrelevant and nothing can justify avoidance of impartial investigation and prosecution," HRCP said on Wednesday, August 19, in its report. "The fact-finding team agrees that the crime remained concealed largely because the victims' families paid extortion money and they were also intimidated."

The commission, known for its largely independent advocacy, also said that it was not possible that the police could be unaware of "the video clippings freely circulating in the area."

Rana Asif Habib, a child rights activist and lawyer, told DW the numbers were simply "the tip of the iceberg." The actual number of victims could be much higher, considering that Kasur is very close to Lahore, where slum children attract abusers in large numbers.

"Pakistan is not a signatory to the UN Child Rights Convention," Habib said, adding that children could not complain to any authority in the event that they were sexually exploited.

Street children often found support in the grownup street people. But almost every one of these guardians abuse these children
The numbers were simply 'the tip of the iceberg,' says a rights activistImage: DW/Rana Asif Habib

A victim's father told DW's Urdu service on condition of anonymity that his life had been shattered due to the abuse of his two sons. "I am in deep pain. I can't sleep. I feel lost," he said, adding that the gang drugged his sons before making them abuse other kids and filming them.

"I wish I had the money to buy justice," he said.

Politicization of the scandal

The HRCP said its team heard complaints from the villagers that they were being pressurized by the police and politicians to downplay the intensity of the issue.

"The behavior of the police and public statements made by some of the PML-N (PM Sharif's party) leaders cast a doubt on their commitment to ensure that justice is done to the victims and that serious measures are taken to prevent further harm to them and their families," the report said.

The HRCP team also criticized the Pakistani media for its coverage of the scandal and said it was highly insensitive to the psychological and emotional impact of the issue on the children.

The rights group, however, warned that the scandal should not be used for political scoring against the ruling party. "The potential for opportunistic use of the incident for political purposes does exist."

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
PM Sharif's government has been strongly criticized for its handling of the scandalImage: Getty Images/S. Gallup

Need for rehabilitation and monitoring

What the HRCP laments most in its report is the "total disregard for the physical and psychological impact of the abuse on the victims."

The rights body also blamed the families of the victims for this. "None of those, including the parents, raised any concerns in this regard with the team. Suggestions by team members that the children should receive proper medical attention and psychological counseling were given no serious attention by the families of these children, nor those who were leading their pursuit for justice against the accused."

The fact-finding mission said it would monitor the progress of the investigation, and that it would re-visit the village to "ascertain the situation with regard to the intimidation of victims and their level of satisfaction with the progress of the investigation."