ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Lahore awarded the death sentence to two men convicted of gang-raping a woman in front of her children along a major highway last September in a case that led to protests across the country, officials confirmed while talking to Arab News on Saturday.
The assault took place while the woman, a French national of Pakistani origin, was traveling on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway on September 9 and her car ran out of fuel, after which she was accosted by Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali.
Ali was arrested in September, and Malhi in October after Punjab police launched a weeks-long manhunt.
Saturday’s verdict was announced by the anti-terrorism court of Judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta who also gave the two men life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.50,000 each on them.
“It was a blind case and a big challenge for police,” Raja Basharat, Punjab’s provincial law minister, told Arab News. “However, they investigated it professionally and managed to solve the case.”
The minister said prosecuting the case was yet another challenge, adding that the government had proved its ability to provide justice to people in a short span.
“I think such quick decisions by the judiciary will also restore people’s confidence in state institutions,” he noted. “It’s a healthy sign, and everyone is appreciating this decision for which the credit goes to the provincial administration.”
Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar also welcomed the anti-terrorism court’s ruling in an official statement, saying that “those who abuse women and children are also terrorists.”
“The rule of law and the provision of justice is the first priority of the government,” he continued. “At any level, oppression and injustice will not be tolerated.”
However, a prominent human rights activist Tahira Abdullah described the verdict as “a populist judgment.”
“It does nothing to end violence against women or the crime of rape against women,” she said. “We have a minimum of seven anti-rape laws in Pakistan that date back to 1929. Have these deaths ended rape against women?”
Criticizing the idea of “retributive justice,” Abdullah said everyone should be clear about the fundamental objective that should be achieved while dealing with such cases.
“For me it is deterrence to end crimes of violence and rape in Pakistan,” she maintained while adding that the court should have given “life sentence until death, not life sentence until 14 or 20 years” while deciding the case.
According to the Karachi-based group War Against Rape, fewer than three percent of sexual assault or rape cases result in a conviction in Pakistan.
Faisal Javed Khan, a senator belonging to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and a close aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan, applauded the verdict on Twitter, saying: “This is a very welcome decision. Such monsters should be made an example of.”
