KARACHI: Famous actress Ushna Shah has expressed her gratitude towards the ‘landmark’ verdict in the motorway gang-rape case, which she hopes might help prevent similar barbaric behavior in the future.
Taking to Twitter, Shah shared the news and wrote, “Dear survivor, I hope this is a step towards the healing of your trauma.” She added, “This verdict is a landmark and it may help others from going through what you did. Sending love and light to you and your children, Sis! Stay strong.”
“The irony that I tweeted “I’m okay with this” to a video of a rapist being stoned to death an hour prior to news of mother raped in front of children on the motorway and to days after news of five-year-old Marwah, shows how deep in trouble we are as a society,” she added.
https://twitter.com/ushnashah/status/1373326988316925959
On Saturday, An anti-terrorism court had handed death sentences to accused Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali for gang-raping a woman on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway last year.
As per details, the judge arrived at the jail at 5 pm and after 25 minutes announced the verdict on Saturday (today). Both the culprits were also given a life imprisonment sentence and slapped with a fine of Rs50,000 each.
The trial took place in Lahore’s Camp Jail, and Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta heard the proceedings. This is a landmark decision as it is for the first time that the suspects named in a gang-rape case have been handed death sentences.
Earlier, the Lahore ATC reserved its verdict in the Lahore motorway gang-rape case during a hearing presided over by ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta and conducted at Camp (District) Jail.
During the hearing, the deputy prosecutors general, Hafiz Asghar and Waqar Bhatti represented the prosecution. Advocates Sher Gull Qureshi and Qasim Arain appeared on behalf of Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, the prime accused and co-accused.
The prosecutors argued that the accused individuals gang-raped the victim woman at gunpoint and solid evidence was available against them. “The accused were arrested after their DNA matched with the samples collected from crime scene whereas the survivor also identified them,” they added.
Shafqat Ali, the co-accused, had confessed to the crime before a judicial magistrate, they submitted, pleading with the court to hand down strict punishment as they committed a heinous crime.
However, the defence counsel opposed the plea, saying the prosecution had failed to prove Shafqat’s presence on the crime scene and that the identification parade was held 22 days after his arrest.
In total, the prosecution presented 37 witnesses, including the survivor, during the trial. The court reserved its verdict till March 20.
On September 9, 2020, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali had allegedly raped a woman at gunpoint in the city’s Gujjarpura area in the presence of her children.
The men stole Rs100,000 worth of money, jewellery, and ATM cards before fleeing, the woman had told police at the time. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was lodged at the Gujjarpura police station under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
