The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested on Friday a religious teacher, suspected of blackmailing his minor student and her family with her personal pictures.

“The FIA’s Cyber Crime Circle conducted a successful raid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and arrested the suspect,” said Faizullah Korejo, the agency's additional director at its Cybercrime Reporting Centre in Karachi.

According to Korejo, a “brave mother” reported that she had appointed a Qari (religious teacher) for home tuition to teach the Holy Quran (Arabic) to her children. Later, her 13-year-old daughter complained that she had been “physically abused” by the teacher while studying the Quran at home.

The teenaged girl also complained to her mother that the suspect was in possession of "obscene" pictures of her, on the basis of which he was trying to harass and blackmail her. The suspect later sent the said pictures to the girl's mother via Whatsapp. “The accused was threatening the family that if his unethical demands were not met, he would make the pictures viral on social media,” said Korejo.

After obtaining approval from the competent authority, an FIA team conducted a raid in Gulshan-i-Iqbal to apprehend the suspect. “The Qari has been arrested by the raiding party,” said Korejo, adding that law-enforcement personnel also confiscated the mobile phone in his possession.

“The recovered mobile phone was technically analysed ... obscene image of [the] victim/minor girl [was] found available on whose basis she was being blackmailed, harassed, threatened,” he added.

The minor victim was also given professional counselling by the FIA through a stress counsellor.

The suspect has been booked under Sections 22 and 24 of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.