- The Lahore High Court upheld the death sentences of Abid Ali and Shafqat Ali for the 2020 Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang rape.
- The men were identified through DNA evidence, mobile phone data, and the victim’s identification. Their appeals were rejected.
An anti-terrorism court sentenced the two convicts, Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga, to death, along with life imprisonment and multiple additional prison terms.
In their appeals, the convicts argued that there were several doubts surrounding the prosecution’s account of events and that the trial court’s judgment was excessively harsh.
The state prosecutor, however, maintained that the prosecution had presented overwhelming evidence against the men and urged the court to uphold their sentences.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa delivered its verdict on 3rd June.
According to court records and media reports, the victim was a French-Pakistani woman in her early 30s who was travelling at night with her three young children on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway in September 2020.
After her car ran out of fuel, she called for assistance and remained inside the vehicle while waiting for help. Before anyone arrived, two armed men approached the car, smashed a window, forced her and her children out, and sexually assaulted her.
The attackers also stole cash and valuables before fleeing the scene.
The case sparked widespread outrage across Pakistan. Public anger was fuelled not only by the crime itself but also by comments from a senior police official that were widely criticised as victim-blaming.
The incident prompted protests, extensive media coverage, and renewed debate over women’s safety and the handling of sexual violence cases.
Investigators later identified and arrested the two suspects using DNA evidence, mobile phone data, and the victim’s identification of the attackers.
The men were convicted in 2021. In June 2026, the Lahore High Court rejected their appeals and upheld both their convictions and death sentences.
The death penalty remains available under Pakistani law for certain offences, including:
- Murder
- Terrorism-related offences
- Rape (particularly in aggravated cases, including gang rape)
- Blasphemy (although executions are rare in practice)
Pakistan does not operate a fully unified Sharia legal system, although Islamic law plays an important role within its legal framework.
