Muzaffargarh police on Sunday arrested a man for uploading obscene pictures of an 11-year-old girl on his Facebook account’s story.

Police Spokesperson Waseem Khan Gopang told Dawn.com that investigation was underway and efforts were being made to recover the mobile phone used to upload the pictures.

According to the FIR (first information report), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the incident took place on November 29. The case was registered under sections 292 (Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc) and 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Mehmood Kot Police Station on the complaint of the child’s father.

The complainant stated in the FIR that his daughter had gone to school but did not return on time, following which he headed out looking for her.

While he was searching for his girl, he was informed by his relatives that the suspect had uploaded obscene pictures of the girl on his Facebook account, the FIR reads.

One of the relatives had taken screenshots of the pictures, which were presented as evidence to the police by the girl’s father.

The background of the pictures, the FIR added, indicated that they were taken at the suspect’s home. Upon a search of the suspect’s residence, the child was recovered.

According to the FIR, the girl said the suspect forcefully brought her to his home while she was returning from school. The suspect’s brother was also present and the pair proceeded to photograph her, it was alleged.

The report further stated that the main suspect fled with the mobile phone after taking the minor’s pictures while the other suspect threatened to upload them on Facebook if she resisted.

The complainant requested the police to arrest the suspects immediately and give them exemplary punishment.

In July, a top official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said that only 343 cases of child sexual exploitation were reported in the previous five years.

“Unfortunately, we are among the countries with the highest incidences, which amounted to 2.1 million in 2021,” FIA Director General Mohammed Tahir Rai had said while speaking at an event titled Child Protection and Digital Safety Dialogue.

“But our nation is not reporting these to the law enforcement agencies and not to Meta also. Due to this only 343 such cases have been reported in the last five years.”