KARACHI: A matriculation student has identified the main accused in a case involving the alleged sexual abuse of more than 100 children during an identification parade held before a judicial magistrate in Karachi, police said.
The identification parade was conducted on Saturday in the court of the Judicial Magistrate South, where the accused, identified as Imran, was produced by police. The student identified him despite the suspect standing among 10 dummies. Following the identification, the court sent Imran to jail on judicial remand.
Police said the student’s family had registered a case against Imran on December 19.
The development follows the arrest of two men, Imran and his alleged accomplice Waqas, by Karachi police on January 17 during an operation in the city’s Tipu Sultan area.
According to Superintendent of Police East Investigation Usman Sadozai, the District East Investigation Wing detained the suspects after conducting an inquiry into complaints filed between 2020 and 2025.
Police said at least seven cases were reported against the suspects during this period.
Investigators said Imran allegedly lured children, took them on a motorcycle and sexually abused them near the Malir River area. After 10 days of continuous investigation and the recording of statements from multiple individuals, police arrested Imran along with Waqas on the 11th day.
According to police, Imran, a resident of Manzoor Colony, works as a tyre puncture repairer. Investigators claimed he confessed to sexually abusing dozens of children over a six-year period.
Police said children identified Imran in three cases, while in one case a victim identified his accomplice, Waqas.
The case has renewed concern over violence against children in Pakistan. More than 5,000 cases of violence against children were reported nationwide in the first six months of 2025, with conviction rates remaining critically low, according to data compiled by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation (SSDO).
The SSDO’s National Violence Against Children Factsheet for January to June 2025 documented 5,097 cases from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Despite the high number of reported cases, the factsheet noted that conviction rates across all regions remained alarmingly low, pointing to serious gaps in child protection mechanisms, policing and the justice delivery system.
News Published in Express Tribune on January 24th, 2026.
