Pakistan police say they have rescued a French woman and her five children after she told authorities she had been held captive by her husband for more than a decade and subjected to years of domestic abuse in the country’s north-west.

The woman, identified as 54-year-old Sylvie Yasmina, was rescued earlier this week from a mud-brick home in Bara, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, the district police chief, Waqar Ahmad, said.

He said Yasmina’s husband had been arrested and investigations are under way.

Domestic violence remains a significant problem in Pakistan. Human rights groups say hundreds of women report physical and psychological abuse by husbands and other family members each year, although many cases are believed to go unreported. Scores of women are murdered in Pakistan each year for violating conservative norms on love, marriage and public behaviour.

According to the police, Yasmina was rescued after one of her sons managed to leave the house and reach the local police station. She and her children were transferred to a women’s police station for protection.

Ahmad said she had expressed a desire to return to France, and authorities were coordinating with relevant officials and the French embassy regarding her repatriation. There was no immediate comment from the French embassy.

According to the police, Yasmina in her initial statement alleged that her husband physically and psychologically abused her and had an extremely violent temperament. Ahmad said Yasmina and her children were found in a dilapidated room and she had visible signs of injuries on her face.

Yasmina told investigators that she had been unable to live freely since moving to Pakistan in 2014. Ahmad said her children were never enrolled in school.

In a video recorded by the police and shared with the media, Yasmina spoke in a mix of English and Pashto, thanking officers for rescuing her and reiterating her wish to return to France.

Shabina Ayaz, the director of rights group the Aurat Foundation, condemned the alleged treatment of Yasmina and said she hoped the French embassy and Pakistani authorities would provide the family with all possible assistance, saying the case should serve as a wake-up call for authorities and society.