The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) warned on Tuesday that online sexual abuse of children remained a serious child protection concern in Pakistan. The HRCP child protection report points to underreporting, weak coordination between institutions, and safeguards that fail to bring many cases to light.
In its report on online child sexual abuse, the commission said the issue must be treated not merely as a cybercrime challenge but as a violation of children’s fundamental rights, dignity and safety.
The report refers to a case reported in Muzaffargarh in 2025, in which at least 50 children, including children aged six or younger, were allegedly subjected to sexual exploitation through an international network. The commission cites the case as an example of how such networks operate across borders, and why a single agency acting alone cannot answer them.
HRCP child protection report: what the numbers do and do not show
Citing figures from the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, the report states that reports linked to suspected child sexual abuse material in Pakistan exceeded two million in 2021. The commission is careful about what that figure means: the figures represented reports of suspected online activity, not individual victims.
That distinction matters for readers. A single case can generate several reports, so the figure shows the scale of suspected activity flagged, not the number of children harmed.
A second set of figures comes from a September report by the National Commission on the Rights of the Child with UNICEF Pakistan. It found that around 1.5 million internet-using Pakistani children aged 12 to 17 were subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse online in a single year.
The report examined the scale of the problem, the experiences of children and caregivers, the views of frontline professionals, and gaps in Pakistan’s legal and institutional response.
The HRCP underlined that point in a post on X on October 27. “Every statistic in a report on online child sexual abuse is a child whose safety, dignity, and rights were taken from them,” the commission wrote. It added that documented cases are only those reported in the first place.
What the HRCP wants changed
The commission called for stronger coordination among child protection authorities, police, cybercrime investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary, so investigations do not lose time and evidence as they pass between agencies.
It also stressed the need to provide affected children with legal assistance, psychological support and rehabilitation services.
The commission said awareness campaigns alone would not address the problem. It called for stronger child protection mechanisms, institutional accountability, and greater responsibility from online platforms to make the internet safer for children.
Why this report lands now
Pakistan has seen a run of cases showing the same gaps. Feature Pakistan has reported the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency’s arrests in a child abuse material case in NCCIA Arrests Child Abuse Material Gang, and the Islamabad High Court’s findings on online harassment in IHC Cybercrime Report on Online Harassment.
At the provincial level, the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau took 16 children into protective custody in Multan in CPWB Takes 16 Children Into Protective Custody in Multan, while Punjab’s unregistered shelter homes raised separate safety questions in Punjab Unregistered Shelter Homes Child Safety.
The HRCP has also pressed the state on rights questions beyond this report, including its demand for lifting the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in HRCP Demands Lifting of KP Emergency.
Read together, these cases show the pattern the HRCP describes: the law and the agencies exist, but the links between them are weak, and children fall through the gaps.
What happens next
The commission has put its recommendations on the record. The next step is for the authorities it names to show how they will coordinate in practice. For families, the test will be simpler: whether reporting a case leads to protection, support and accountability, rather than delay.
Source: The Express Tribune, “Pakistan’s child protection system failing to address online sexual abuse: HRCP”, 27 October 2026, https://tribune.com.pk/story/2637237/pakistans-child-protection-system-failing-to-address-online-sexual-abuse-hrcp
Frequently asked questions
What did the HRCP report warn about?
The HRCP warned that online sexual abuse of children remained a serious child protection concern, with underreporting, weak coordination and inadequate safeguards.
