ISLAMABAD (DPA) - Police in Pakistan are interrogating a paedophile for possible links to global child pornography rackets after he confessed to filming the rape of at least 30 children and selling the videos online, officials said on Friday (Nov 15).

The suspect, Sohail Ayaz, who served a jail term in Britain for child abuse, had been deported to Pakistan. He was arrested on Tuesday in the city of Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad, local police chief Faisal Rana said.

"We know for sure he has been selling videos to clients in Europe ... we are trying to reach the racket and are in touch with authorities in other countries," another police official Rai Mazhar said.

A chartered accountant, Ayaz had been working as a consultant for the government of the north-western Pakistani province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after his deportation to Pakistan. Provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai said an inquiry has been launched into how a known paedophile could have been hired.

Hundreds of children are abused in Pakistan every year, but the conviction rate in such crimes is very low, said Mumtaz Gohar of child rights organisation Sahil.