Pakistan records 1,914 child abuse cases in first half of 2026

A report by the child‑protection NGO Sahil documented 1,914 cases of child abuse in Pakistan between January and June 2026, based on information from newspapers across all four provinces, the Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit‑Baltistan. The tally includes 1,015 incidents of sexual abuse, 558 abductions, 101 missing‑child reports, 35 child marriages, 49 abandoned infants and 98 cases linked to pornography.

Girls accounted for 58% of the victims while boys made up 42%. Children aged 11‑15 were the most affected group (598 cases), followed by those aged 16‑18 (356) and 6‑10 (329). In 43% of incidents the perpetrator was known to the child or family, while strangers were involved in 34% of cases. About 45% of abuse occurred inside the victim’s home and 57% of the incidents were reported from urban areas, with Punjab registering roughly 80% of the total cases.