{"id":2796,"date":"2026-06-04T07:26:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=2796"},"modified":"2026-06-04T07:26:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:26:48","slug":"lahore-high-court-upholds-death-sentences-of-two-convicts-in-motorway-rape-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=2796","title":{"rendered":"Lahore High Court Upholds Death Sentences of Two Convicts in Motorway Rape Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lahore:<\/strong> The Lahore High Court (LHC)<\/strong> has dismissed the appeals filed by two convicts in the high-profile Motorway rape case<\/strong>, upholding the death sentences awarded to them by an anti-terrorism court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruling marks a significant development in a case that drew nationwide attention and sparked widespread debate about women’s safety, law enforcement, and criminal justice in Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-Member Bench Announces Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision was announced by a two-member bench<\/strong> headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bench rejected the appeals filed by convicted offenders Abid Malhi<\/strong> and Shafqat Baga<\/strong>, who had challenged the death penalties handed down by the trial court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After reviewing the record and hearing arguments from both sides, the court upheld the original judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background of the Case<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The case relates to a widely publicized incident in which a woman was assaulted on a motorway near Lahore in September 2020 after her vehicle reportedly ran out of fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident generated strong public outrage across Pakistan and led to demands for stricter action against sexual violence and improved security measures on highways and public roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following investigations, law enforcement agencies arrested the accused and filed charges against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convicts Challenged Trial Court Judgment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the appeal proceedings, counsel for the convicts argued that the trial court had failed to properly assess the facts of the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense maintained that the accused had not been given adequate consideration and that their position had not been fully heard before the verdict was delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On these grounds, the appellants requested the Lahore High Court to overturn the death sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecution Defends Convictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution opposed the appeals and defended the trial court\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutor Rahiila Shahid<\/strong> argued before the court that substantial and reliable evidence existed against both convicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She maintained that the convictions were based on merit and that the anti-terrorism court had correctly evaluated the evidence before awarding the death penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the prosecution, the record clearly established the involvement of the accused in the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original Death Sentences Awarded in 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The two convicts were sentenced to death by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC)<\/strong> on March 20, 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court found them guilty in connection with the rape case and imposed the maximum punishment under the applicable law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five days later, on March 25, 2021<\/strong>, the convicts challenged the verdict before the Lahore High Court, initiating appellate proceedings that continued for several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Court Reserved Verdict After Hearing Arguments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following detailed arguments from both the defense and prosecution, the Lahore High Court had reserved its judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court subsequently announced its decision, dismissing the appeals and affirming the punishments imposed by the anti-terrorism court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, the death sentences awarded to Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga remain in force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significance of the Decision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Motorway rape case became one of the most widely discussed criminal cases in Pakistan in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident triggered public protests, policy discussions, and renewed calls for stronger protections for women and tougher measures against sexual violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case also prompted debate regarding policing, emergency response systems, and public safety infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Process Continues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the Lahore High Court has upheld the convictions and sentences, Pakistan\u2019s legal system provides for additional legal remedies in certain circumstances, subject to applicable laws and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any further proceedings would be handled through the courts in accordance with the country’s legal framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the Lahore High Court\u2019s ruling represents a major judicial milestone in the case, reaffirming the trial court\u2019s findings and maintaining the death sentences imposed on the two convicted offenders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lahore: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed the appeals filed by two convicts in the high-profile Motorway rape case, upholding the death sentences awarded..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1-300x171.jpg",300,171,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/435234_778944_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Pakistan<\/a>","tag_info":"Pakistan","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2798,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2796\/revisions\/2798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}