The government of Pakistan’s Punjab province decided on Monday, October 19, to ban the purchase, sale, and use of everyday objects equipped with concealed cameras and recording devices, citing concerns over illegal surveillance, harassment, and blackmail.
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The decision, approved by the provincial cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, covers devices disguised as ordinary items, including pens, eyeglasses, and wristwatches.
Punjab’s Home Department said the restrictions were intended to protect citizens’ privacy and personal information, particularly that of women and children. Provincial Information and Broadcasting Minister Azma Bokhari emphasized the protection of vulnerable groups when announcing the decision.
“Strict legal action will be taken against the use, purchase and sale of spying equipment and concealed electronic devices,” the Home Department said. “Strict penalties will be imposed for the illegal use of everyday items equipped with hidden cameras.”
The ban has not yet formally taken effect. Punjab Home Secretary Dr. Ahmad Javed Qazi said an official notification implementing the restrictions would be issued within a few days, giving retailers and individuals time to remove or dispose of the devices.
The decision follows complaints about concealed recording equipment being used to film or record people without their consent, sometimes for harassment, extortion, or blackmail.
It also comes as the Lahore High Court considers a public interest petition challenging the unregulated import and sale of smart glasses equipped with cameras and microphones.
The petitioner’s lawyer told the court that Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses were being sold online and in Lahore shops despite Pakistan not being an officially designated market for the product.
On October 15, the court directed federal authorities to refer the matter to the federal cabinet. The proceedings, which concern federal regulation of smart-glasses imports and sales, are separate from Punjab’s proposed restrictions on covert recording devices.
A senior Punjab government official, speaking to The Media Line on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said an increase in cybercrime, particularly cases involving child abuse, had prompted the provincial government to act.
The concerns arise against a broader backdrop of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation of children in Pakistan.
A September 2026 study by UNICEF’s Office of Strategy and Evidence–Innocenti, ECPAT International, and Interpol estimated that approximately 1.5 million internet-using Pakistani children aged 12 to 17 had experienced some form of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse during a single year.
The findings highlighted risks involving nonconsensual images, threats, and blackmail, although the study did not establish how many incidents involved concealed recording devices.
Sahil monitors child abuse and advocates for children’s rights
Separately, Sahil, a Pakistan-based nonprofit organization that monitors child abuse and advocates for children’s rights, documented 3,630 child abuse cases in 2025 and 1,914 during the first six months of 2026.
The figures, compiled from newspaper reports, cover several categories of abuse, including sexual assault, abduction, and child marriage. They do not represent a comprehensive count of incidents or establish a direct connection to hidden cameras.
Agha Zamin Abbas, Sahil’s media coordinator, welcomed Punjab’s decision as a step toward strengthening privacy and child protection.
“These gadgets are being misused for harassment, blackmail, or online exploitation. By restricting their sale and use, the government is directly reducing opportunities for predators to invade children’s privacy.”
However, Abbas warned that restrictions on concealed devices would be insufficient without stronger regulation of online sales and imports, effective investigations, and prompt assistance for affected children.
He also suggested that Pakistan consider international approaches restricting access to certain social media platforms for children under 16, arguing that unregulated online environments increase the risks of grooming and exploitation.
Abbas said parents had an important responsibility to monitor and guide their children’s digital activities. At the same time, he stressed that privacy protections should not unnecessarily interfere with legitimate uses of technology.
“Balancing privacy and technology requires a dual approach: safeguarding fundamental rights while ensuring that legitimate uses of technology such as education or healthcare remain accessible,” Abbas said.
Syed Jowdat Nadeem, a digital rights activist and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), also welcomed the proposed ban but warned that restricting devices would not resolve the social pressures that make exploitation particularly damaging for victims.
Speaking to The Media Line, Nadeem said women and children in conservative societies could face stigma, victim-blaming, restrictions on their freedom, and even violence following sexual harassment or unauthorized recordings.
He explained that threats to expose intimate images could become powerful instruments of coercion, particularly when perpetrators exploited victims’ fears of public humiliation or family retaliation.
Nadeem called for improved digital-forensics capabilities, confidential reporting mechanisms, and procedures for rapidly removing exploitative content from online platforms. Victims, he said, also needed access to legal assistance, psychological support, and protection from retaliation.
He warned that without effective controls on online marketplaces and imports, prohibited devices could simply move from physical shops to less regulated internet sellers.
Nadeem also cautioned that legislation should distinguish between malicious recordings and legitimate uses of technology, protecting freedom of expression while targeting exploitation.
The measure of success, he said, would be whether authorities could prevent abuse, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect victims’ rights, rather than simply how many devices were removed from sale.
Saeedain Khan, a senior advocate at the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench, said preventing child sexual abuse required confronting the social conditions that allow perpetrators to operate without accountability.
Speaking to The Media Line, Khan warned that children were particularly vulnerable in environments where they were discouraged from questioning adults or reporting inappropriate behavior.
He said teaching children to obey elders without question could increase their vulnerability to exploitation, especially when adults misused positions of authority or trust.
Prevention, Khan said, required educating children to recognize abuse and ensuring that they could report it without fearing punishment, disbelief, or retaliation.
He also called for effective law enforcement and clear legal protections, emphasizing that regulating recording devices alone would not address the underlying causes of abuse.
“The real issue isn’t why one individual commits a specific crime; it’s why our society actively creates the conditions for child abuse to thrive and allows perpetrators to operate with total impunity,” he said.