Two suspects were arrested for allegedly filming, raping and blackmailing two sisters in Quetta, police officials confirmed on Thursday.

A first information report (FIR) of the case was registered at Quaidabad police station on the complaint of the mother of the two girls under Sections 34 (common intention), 354-A (stripping woman of her clothes), 365-B (seducing or forcing of adults into illicit intercourse), 376 (punishment for rape), 376-A (disclosure of identity of victim of rape, etc), 496-A (enticing or taking away a woman), 503 (criminal intimidation), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (violating modesty or causing sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR registered on December 2, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the mother said that the two suspects — brothers H* and K* — had been blackmailing her two daughters, aged 19 and 16 years, in different ways for two years.

"They have been forcing them into prostitution after recording [their] nude videos and photos and threatening them," the FIR quoted her as saying. It added that four to five days ago (from the time of the FIR's registration), the suspects had blackmailed her daughters, abducted them and shot nude videos and photographs which they spread on social media.

Violence was also being inflicted on the girls in the footage, according to the complaint. The mother said she had captured the evidence on a USB and requested the initiation of legal proceedings against the suspects.

The investigating officer in the case, Quaidabad Station House Officer (SHO) Ijaz Ahmed, told Dawn.com that H* had been arrested on Dec 2 and many inappropriate videos of girls were found from his possession, and his laptop, various mobiles and other devices were seized.

"The suspect drugged the young girls after luring them with the prospect of jobs and then blackmailed them after making [their] obscene videos," the SHO said. He added that the suspect was produced before the court of Quetta's judicial magistrate and was remanded in police custody for seven days.

According to the SHO, a high-level investigation team had been formed to interrogate the suspect and the police were conducting raids to arrest the remaining gang members.

He added the suspect's brother, K*, had also been arrested on Thursday and was being interrogated.

At a press conference on Thursday, Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Syed Fida Hassan Shah confirmed the development. He said the seized material was sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for technical analysis and further action would be taken on the basis of the findings.

"I am personally monitoring the case," the DIG said, adding that daily meetings of the investigation team were being held. He said the case was being processed smoothly, and technical evidence and testimonies were being collected.

"I reassure [you] that it will be our full effort and we will also show you by making a strong case, getting a conviction when it ultimately goes to the court and making it an example so no one dares in the future to think about doing such injustice with our girls."

DIG Shah also said no pressure was being exerted on the police in any way and it was conducting an independent investigation. He declined to share further details since the case is still under investigation.

The officer said efforts were also underway to recover the two kidnapped girls who were last traced in Afghanistan's capital Kabul and police were trying to tackle the issue at the international level.