ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Saturday ruled that people involved in spreading child pornography videos on social media do not deserve bail.
The apex court issued the ruling while rejecting the bail application of a suspect involved in pornography.
“The trial court must announce the verdict in the case against the suspect soon,” ordered the Supreme Court.
The SC noted that child pornography is a major cause of child sexual abuse and is also one of the leading causes of devastation in society.
The court also said that it is a grave threat to the future and morality of children in the country.
“The argument of the suspect’s lawyer that no affected party came forward is inadmissible, the court remarked.
Supreme Court Justice Shafir Ali Akbar Naqvi wrote the decision.
FIA arrests 2 in child pornography caseÂ
In October, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested two individuals allegedly involved in child pornography.
As per the report, the two suspects were traced with the help of information provided by a United States-based organisation specialising in preventing violent crimes against children.
The information was relayed to Pakistan via Interpol, an international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.
The suspects — identified as Sultan and Ameen — were allegedly involved in uploading and disseminating hundreds of inappropriate videos of women and children on the web.
Criminalisation of child pornography
In 2016, Pakistan had criminalised child pornography in a historic first, making the offence punishable with seven years in prison and a fine of Rs0.7 million.
The new amendment, titled Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2015, also criminalised child trafficking within the country.
The initiative came after the country was rocked by a major paedophilia scandal in August 2015, when it was revealed that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from Hussain Khanwala village in the Punjab province had been made and were being circulated online.
