Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Filmmaker Shahzad Hameed’s documentary on the child sex abuse episode in Kasur, the biggest sex racket ever exposed in Pakistan, has been nominated for Best Documentary in Human Concerns category of the New York Film Festival 2017.

Shahzad Hameed covered a social activist’s journey to uncover the truth and put together a 48-minute documentary, a private television channel reported on Wednesday.

A child abuse case was reported in August 2015 when Ganda Police Station booked at least 15 suspects for extortion, sodomy and recording videos of young boys and girls.

Reportedly, millions of rupees in cash and jewellery were extorted by the gang since 2009 in Hussain Khanwala village. The locals knew about the ring but never filed a first information report (FIR) with the police fearing the influential people of the area.

The documentary covers the victims and what their families went through. Kasur scandal was the biggest crime of its nature in the country’s history.

Hameed had earlier won a Gold Medal in the NY Festival 2016 for his documentary titled ‘Flight of the Falcons’. His work was recognised as Best Documentary in Human Portraits category, whereas this year’s documentary ‘Kasur’s Lost Children’ has been shortlisted in Human Concerns category.