Punjab Govt orders probe into huge child abuse scandal.......

Lahore (Pakistan) – A Pakistani province on Sunday announced a judicial inquiry into a massive child abuse and extortion scandal allegedly involving hundreds of victims amid mounting calls for justice.

Arrested gang members of a sexual abuse scandal stand in the police lockup in Hussain Khanwala village, some 55 kms southwest of Lahore on August 9, 2015 © AFP Arif Ali

At least 280 children were filmed being sexually abused by a gang of 25 men who blackmailed their parents by threatening to leak the videos, Latif Ahmed Sara, a representative for the victims’ families, said.
Children aged mostly under 14 were also forced to perform sex acts on each other in the more than 400 videos made in Hussain Khanwala village, southwest of Lahore, since 2007, Sara and local media reports said.
“Around 300 videos of the kids have been leaked and every second child in this village is a victim,” Sara, a legal activist said.
Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered an independent judicial probe into the case, amid mounting anger from rights activists and a flurry of media attention.
“The chief minister (of) Punjab has ordered a judicial inquiry into (the) incident, those involved in the case will be punished and the affected families will be provided with justice at any cost,” the statement from the chief minister’s office said.
Saba Sadiq, chief of the province’s Child Protection Bureau, described the case as “the largest child abuse scandal in Pakistan’s history”.