Famous Pashto singer Nazia Iqbal has alleged that her two daughters were subjected to rape and sexual abuse by their maternal uncle for many months, police said on Wednesday, adding that it has arrested the prime suspect after registering a case against him.

According to the Rawat police station SHO, the accused has been arrested and a case registered against him under Section 376 (punishment of rape) and Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Police said the 19-year-old accused was reportedly caught red-handed by the singer while sexually abusing her daughter at her home located in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi.

In her statement before the police, Nazia Iqbal said she is a mother of two sons and two daughters. The girls are 12 and eight years of age. Due to professional commitments, both she and her husband would mostly be away from home due to which she had called over her brother from Swat to look after the girls and ensure the safety of the home.

Also read: A number of rape cases involve close relatives

The singer revealed that her daughters "would often complain to her that their uncle indulged in 'wrong acts' with them and would show them scary movies, threatening to kill them if they told anyone".

"One Sunday morning when I got up to prepare breakfast, I heard the cries of my younger daughter coming from the adjacent room. Upon entering the room, I discovered that her clothes had been taken off and my brother was sexually abusing her," Nazia Iqbal told police.

Upon seeing this, she immediately cried out in alarm following which the accused fled the scene.

SHO Rawat Inspector Sheikh Khizr Hayat while speaking to Dawn said that "the girls underwent a medical examination and initial reports confirm that both girls were subjected to sexual abuse".

Meanwhile, DNA samples have also been taken from the girls and sent to Lahore for testing.

The accused also underwent a medical examination, the official informed DawnNewsTV, adding that only DNA test remains to be conducted.

SHO Hayat said the accused confessed that he was unemployed and mostly remained at home and would often indulge in immoral acts with the girls, which can be dated back up to a year.

He said that the accused would be presented before the area magistrate on Thursday to obtain a physical remand against him.