Islamabad, March 10 – The Human Rights Council of Pakistan, a non-governmental organization, has revealed that as many as 258 cases of rape were reported in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2025. However, only one conviction was recorded, local media reported.
The Human Rights Council of Pakistan (HRCP) revealed these statistics in a 2025 human rights report launched at the Peshawar Press Club, as reported by Dawn, Pakistan's leading daily.
During the launch of the report, the council's provincial president, Izharuddin Khan, said that around five percent of women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced violence regularly. He stated that about 30 percent of cases of gender-based violence were reported, while nearly 70 percent remained unreported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khan also mentioned that harassment cases were also reported in universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that female students were not safe from gender-based harassment. According to the report, complaints of harassment were made at the University of Peshawar and the University of Malakand. He said that traditional practices such as "swara," the practice of giving girls in marriage to settle disputes, were still practiced in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the report, there was an increase in digital harassment, with about 160,000 cases of cybercrime reported in 2025. However, officials said that these cases only represented instances where victims were aware of cybercrime reporting techniques, while an estimated 30 to 40 percent of incidents went unreported due to a lack of knowledge.
Representatives of the council urged the government to introduce legislation to protect the rights of women and ensure their safety. They also urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to approve a women's empowerment policy and implement laws addressing acid attacks and domestic violence. They also called for setting up special courts and dedicated funds to address cases related to gender-based violence, and demanded stronger measures to empower women and protect their rights, as reported by Dawn.
The report also expressed concern over violence against transgender persons, stressing that several members of the community were killed during the year, while several others were reportedly forced to leave some areas.