Pakistani man accused of killing eight girls may have been in international child-porn ring

A man accused of killing eight young girls may be linked to an international child-porn ring, Pakistani officials have said.

Mohammad Imran, 24, was arrested this week in connection with the rape and killing of seven-year-old Zainab Ansari in the city of Kasur while her parents were on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Zainab was assaulted and her body thrown in a garbage dump there earlier this month, stirring outrage across Pakistan and bringing to light a string of other abductions and slayings by a suspected serial predator.

On Tuesday, police officials said the suspect had confessed to the murders. A judge at the Lahore High Court granted the police another week for the investigation.

So far Imran, who will be tried before an anti-terrorism court, has not hired a lawyer to represent him. His trial, according to the Lahore court, is expected to last a week, with daily hearings.