The Lahore High Court on Monday acquitted a man convicted earlier on charges of trying to kill his fellow student in a brutal knife attack.
Khadija Siddiqui was attacked by her class fellow Shah Hussain, on May 3, 2016, near Shimla Hill where she, along with her driver, had gone to pick her younger sister from school.
Both sisters were about to get into their car when the helmet-wearing suspect attacked Khadija with a knife and stabbed her 23 times, leaving her critically injured.
A judicial magistrate had on July 29, 2017 handed down seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Hussain after finding him guilty of attempted murder. However, a sessions court in March this year set aside the minor penalties of the convict and commuted the sentenced to five years.
Shah Hussain, the son of a senior lawyer, had challenged the conviction in the sessions court while victim Khadija had also filed an appeal, but for the enhancement of the punishment handed down to the convict.
The sessions judge, however, had dismissed appeal of the victim and partially allowed the appeal of the convict reducing his imprisonment to five years.
Hussain then approached the LHC against the five-year imprisonment approved by the sessions court.
Accepting his appeal, Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem of the LHC on Monday acquitted Hussain of all charges after hearing arguments from the lawyers of the defence and prosecution. The judgement was announced through a short order.
The accused's father while speaking to South Punjab News said Hussain will be released after they receive a copy of the high court's verdict.
The judge who originally tried Hussain in his decision had noted that despite detailed cross-examination of eyewitnesses, nothing came out in favour of the accused. He had further observed that the accused had stabbed the victim mercilessly as severe injuries clearly established that the convict stabbed her without any limit to commit her to death.
Desperately appealing to CJP: Khadija
Khadija, while talking to Media men, said she wasn't expecting the high court's verdict to be what it turned out as the accused's crime against her was proven "beyond a shadow of doubt".
"Justice butchered. Shah hussain acquitted!" she wrote on Twitter after the verdict was announced.The knife-attack victim said she is "desperately appealing" to Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar to take notice of the LHC verdict and hear her case directly.
"The only defence [of the accused] was mudslinging and slut-shaming," Khadija alleged. She said today's judgement is a blow to not just her case but to the security of women in the society at large because she was attacked in broad daylight.
Khadija said she will file an appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court.
Twitter demands #JusticeForKhadija following LHC verdict -
Social media users including civil society activists, journalists, celebrities and political figures took to social media on Monday to express shock and disappointment over the Lahore High Court verdict in which a man earlier convicted of attacking law student Khadija Siddiqui with a knife was acquitted.
Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem of the LHC acquitted Shah Hussain of all charges after accepting his appeal against the five-year sentence handed to him by a sessions court.n stabbing case As netizens posted in support of Khadija and expressed outrage over the court verdict, #JusticeForKhadija became the top trend on Twitter in Pakistan.
"Today Khadija is the victim, tomorrow it can be anyone, my daughter, your daughter, anyone’s daughter! We must speak against this grave injustice," tweeted journalist Faizan Lakhani.Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir wondered if any other woman seeking justice would trust the country's judicial system in the future following the judgement."A seven-year sentence for attempted murder - reduced to five years - reduced to nothing. This is how we value a woman seeking justice with proof," wrote actor Osman Khalid Butt.Lawyer and the lead media campaigner for Khadija, Hassaan Niazi tweeted: "It was always a fight between the son of a lawyer who stabbed Khadija 23 times vs all the victims who fail to get justice."Another user wrote: "Apparently, stabbing a woman 23 times with a knife is not a crime serious enough when you're rich and powerful."Khadija was attacked by her class fellow Shah Hussain, on May 3, 2016, near Shimla Hill where she, along with her driver, had gone to pick her younger sister from school.
Both sisters were about to get into their car when the helmet-wearing suspect attacked Khadija with a knife and stabbed her 23 times, leaving her critically injured.
