Father involved in child pornography of own children for money: NCCIA

• Children involved were aged five to six.
• Videos were allegedly sold through Telegram app.
• Main suspect belonged to Skardu, says official.
  

ISLAMABAD: A father was allegedly involved in producing pornographic videos of his own children for money as part of a network that sold such material online, a senior National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) official revealed on Sunday.

"The father who was arrested was making videos of his own children," NCCIA Additional Director Shoaib Khan said at a press conference in Islamabad.

Describing it as an unusual case, Khan said the children were aged between five and six years and that the videos were produced and sold through the Telegram app.

He said a group had formed around circulating and selling such videos.

The NCCIA official further revealed that the network had also subjected animals to sexual assault and filmed the abuse.

"Nothing of this nature has previously surfaced in Pakistan's history," Khan said. He added that the identities of those involved in such cases were not disclosed.

According to Khan, the main suspect belonged to Skardu, while investigations were under way in Multan, Islamabad and southern Punjab.

Online sexual harassment

Khan said the NCCIA had also arrested a suspect in an online sexual harassment case a day earlier following a complaint received from Karachi.

The official said action would also be taken against parents who became aware of crimes involving their children but failed to report them.

"In cases of sexual harassment, parents know what their child is doing," he said.

Khan announced that the NCCIA was launching an awareness campaign at universities and would also educate parents about how to monitor what their children were viewing on mobile phones.

"I will personally go to schools in Islamabad to raise awareness among parents," he said, adding that the campaign would be expanded across the country.

Crackdown on call centres

Separately, Khan said the NCCIA Islamabad had conducted crackdowns on call centres and identified a large number of such facilities in the capital.

Seven FIRs had recently been registered in connection with call centres, while between 13,000 and 14,000 devices had been recovered in the cases, he said.

Khan also cautioned people against sharing their one-time passwords (OTPs) and PINs, warning that fake banking websites had been created that could appear identical to genuine ones.

"Do not give your OTP or PIN to anyone," he advised.

Referring to Chinese nationals arrested in Pakistan, Khan said they would face punishment in accordance with Pakistani law. After completing their sentences, their visas would be cancelled and they would be deported, he added.