Six boys were rescued from abuse by the Lahore police on Wednesday while a suspect was arrested as well.

A statement from the police spokesperson said the Data Darbar station house officer (SHO) conducted the search operation with the police team and rescued the underage boys, who were being molested in a private inn, while also arresting a suspect.

City Superintendent of Police Captain retired Qazi Ali Raza said the suspect drugged the children and then filmed illicit footage of them. He added that raids were under way to arrest the accomplices and a case was registered the suspect.

“In the light of the orders of Punjab chief minister, there is a zero-tolerance policy against those who abuse and sexually exploit children and women,” he said.

The police statement added that a certificate of appreciation was also announced for the Data Darbar SHO and his team on the successful operation.

Earlier this year, data compiled by Sahil, an NGO working for children’s rights, showed that 11 children were abused every day in 2023, with mostly acquaintances and relatives involved in the heinous act.

The report said that in 2023, a total number of 4,213 child abuse cases had been reported from all four provinces as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. The total number of cases included reported cases of child sexual abuse, cases of abduction, cases of missing children, and child marriages.

A gender-divide analysis of the data showed that out of the total reported cases, 2,251 (53 per cent) of victims were girls and 1,962 (47pc) were boys. The reported age showed that children were most vulnerable to abuse in the age group of 6-15 years, in which more cases of boys than girls were reported.

Moreover, children as young as 0-5 years were also sexually abused. The abuser’s category in the report indicated that acquaintances were still the most involved in child sexual abuse, along with relatives, family members, strangers and women abettors.

The report also showed that out of the total 4,213 reported cases, 75pc were reported from Punjab, 13pc cases from Sindh, 7pc cases from Islamabad capital territory, 3pc cases from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 2pc cases from Balochistan, AJK and GB.