Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi has declared child abuse in Pakistan a national moral crisis and designated 2026 as the “Year of Children”.
The report called for stronger protection of minors as reported abuse cases continue to rise. Pakistan recorded 3,630 confirmed cases of violence against children in 2025, an 8 percent increase from the previous year.
According to the child rights organization Sahil, an average of more than nine children abused each day in Pakistan. Abduction and rape were the most commonly reported crimes, while girls accounted for 53 percent of the victims. Children between the ages of 11 and 15 were identified as the most vulnerable.
“Child protection is crucial,” Archbishop Arshad told Vatican’s Fides News Agency, adding, “deep concern over the growing number of child abuse cases in society.”
“The issue of child sexual abuse in Pakistan remains widespread and requires urgent attention,” he said.
The archbishop condemned recent cases reported across the country, including the abduction, sexual abuse, and killing of seven-year-old Muntaha Zahra in Sargodha. He also cited similar cases in Karachi, Swat, and other parts of the country.
Referring to Muntaha’s death, Archbishop Arshad said such “brutality against an innocent child is a crime that wounds the conscience of the entire nation.”
“Crimes against children are among the most shameful and intolerable violations of human dignity. No society can call itself just, peaceful, or civilized as long as its children live under threat, fear, and insecurity. Children are a sacred gift from God and must be protected with the highest level of moral, social, legal, and institutional responsibility,” he said.
He urged Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments, law enforcement agencies, child protection departments, and other relevant institutions “to take immediate, firm, transparent and exemplary measures against those responsible for such crimes.”
The archbishop also called for “perpetrators of child abuse to be brought to justice without delay and for silence, negligence and the failure to enforce the law to be rejected.”
He said the diocesan community, through its parishes, schools, and associations, “will continue to raise awareness and encourage families, schools, parishes, and communities to work together for the safety and development of every child.”
