HUSSAIN KHAN WALA, Pakistan — Pakistani officials (click here) have initiated an
investigation into allegations that a gang of men sexually abused more
than 200 children and sold videos of the abuse.
The
accusations have rocked the country, drawing the attention and
condemnation of human rights activists and politicians in a case that
involved subjects long considered taboo here.
At
least 280 children under the age of 14 from three villages in eastern
Punjab Province were said to have been subjected to sexual abuse by a
gang of 15 men, who made videos to extort money from the children and
their parents. Seven of the accused have been arrested, police officials
said Sunday.
The
accusations of abuse started trickling out last month as victims began
to report it to the police, and last Tuesday, hundreds of residents
staged a protest, accusing the police and local politicians of
protecting the gang members and ignoring the accusations. Some of the
protesters clashed with the police, and dozens of people were injured,
including several police officers.
On Saturday, details of the abuse
were carried by The Nation, a Lahore-based English-language newspaper,
which reported that the gang members had drugged and intoxicated their
victims, some as young as 6, and had recorded hundreds of videos. Some
of the children stole jewelry and money from their parents to pay the
men to stop them from making the videos public, according to the
reports. The newspaper said many of the videos were sold to buyers and
pornographic websites overseas....
