Over 200 cases of sexual assault reported in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A minimum of 200 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in Islamabad during the period from January 2021 to June 2025, as per reports issued by the Interior Ministry.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in a written response to Senator Shahadat Awan, told IR before the Senate that in total 567 rape cases were reported in the federal capital during the said period, and 625 accused were arrested.

Amongst these, 485 cases were challaned, 80 led to convictions, 23 to acquittals, and the trial of 406 cases is pending.

The records indicated that of the 200 child abuse cases, 93 victims were boys and 108 girls. Police arrested 222 suspects, but only 12 have been convicted so far. Fifteen were acquitted, 163 are still under trial, and 26 suspects are still at large.

As per zone-wise analysis received from Islamabad police, the most cases were reported in Saddar Zone with 61 cases, Rural Zone with 63 cases, and Soan Zone with 38 cases. City Zone had 17 cases, and I-Area Zone had 21 cases.

The year-wise data present a disturbing picture. There were 70 cases of child abuse registered in 2022 alone across all zones, the highest during the four years. That was followed by 52 cases in 2023, 60 cases in 2024, and 18 cases up to June 2025.

Despite the arrests, conviction rates are alarmingly low. For example, in Saddar Zone, nine accused only were convicted out of 61 registered cases. In Rural Zone, three convictions were made in 63 cases, while in Soan and City Zones no conviction was reported for the period.