Pemra calls for responsible reporting on Kasur child abuse case

Published August 15, 2015
A victim of a child sex abuse scandal stands in his house in Hussain Khan Wala town, Kasur. ─ AP/File
A victim of a child sex abuse scandal stands in his house in Hussain Khan Wala town, Kasur. ─ AP/File

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Saturday directed TV channels to exercise caution while reporting about the Kasur sex abuse scandal.

In a statement issued by Pemra's headquarters in the capital, the regulatory body advised TV channels to report about the scandal in a responsible manner saying, "The faces of the victims and the parents should not be shown and neither should their identities be revealed."

Know more: Kasur scandal: 'I thought of killing myself everyday'

Pemra said in the statement it has asked TV channels not to give graphic details of what happened in the serial child abuse scandal.

The media regulatory body said the "victims have been through enough trauma already and their wounds should not be scratched further by media instead of healing them".

Also read: High-ups play down child abuse scandal

Details of the child sex abuse scandal were reported by local media, with some reports saying that 280 children were molested by a gang, which also made around 400 videos of children, later using them to blackmail families and receiving money from them.

A property dispute allegedly brought the issue to the surface.

Take a look: Kasur child molestation scandal baseless, says inquiry report

While the Punjab government downplayed the scandal, protestors were out on the streets in Kasur, demanding that the culprits, some of whom they say are at large, be apprehend immediately.

Examine: Child sex abuse case: Protesters clash with police over 'failure' to catch culprits

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