Trigger warning: This story contains videos of violence and child abuse.
A video of two police officers torturing a minor boy at Quetta’s Pashtoonabad police station went viral on social media on Friday causing public outrage. People found the incident of violence to be highly “disturbing” and called for action against the perpetrators.
The video was shared by a freelance journalist Malik Achakzai on Twitter on Friday evening and was shot by someone clearly hiding from the officers abusing the child. “The police in Quetta torture a minor, these tactics across the police structure aren't new,” he said, mentioning UNICEF Pakistan and Human Rights Commission Pakistan in his tweet.
The two policemen in the video have been arrested.
Social media users had called for the officers to be severely punished as per the law.
“Just watched a very disturbing video of two grown up police men beating a helpless child. Of all things wrong in this country, violence against kids has to be the worst. I hope these monsters get punished duly,” said Twitter user Brashna Kasi.
“Such barbaric behavior should not go unpunished,” said a user.
Twitter user Nida Khan Tareen lambasted Pakistan’s politicians and said that they only “care about their stupid seats.”
People also spoke up against child abuse in the country.
Briefing the press about the officers’ arrest, Ghulam Azfar, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Quetta said, “We have arrested the two policemen and locked them up at the same police station.”