Shah Hussain has been released from jail just before Eid-ul-Azha after serving for 3.5 years. The convict was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for stabbing Khadija Siddiqui 23 times however following the remission in sentences on different occasions, he has been released early.
What actually happened?
Shah had attacked Khadija Siddiqui, his fellow at a private law college, with a knife on 3rd May 2016 in Lahore when Khadija and her younger sister Sofia were getting into their car. Both Khadija and Sofia got injured in the incident however, the driver was able to save the girls as he forced Shah to flee before he killed either of them.
As a result of the attack, Khadija suffered 23 stabbing wounds and had to get around 60 stitches on her neck. As soon as Khadija gained consciousness 5 days after the surgery, she named Shah as the attacker after which a case was registered under the sections of attempted murder.
Case proceedings
Hussain’s Father, an influential lawyer, tried to use his connections to coerce the complainant into withdrawing the case. However, Khadija stood her ground and after uproar on social media, the case became high profile.
On 29th July 2017, Lahore judicial magistrate had given seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Hussain after finding him guilty of attempted murder. A session’s court in March 2018 set aside the minor penalties of the convict and commuted the sentence to five years.
However, the Lahore High Court had freed the convict on lack of evidence.
Read more: Twitter lauds Chief Justice Khosa in Khadija Siddiqui’s stabbing case
A suo moto notice was taken by Justice Saqib Nisar in June 2018 who referred the case to Justice Khosa for adjudication.
Upon hearing the case, the three-judge SC bench, headed by CJP Khosa and comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, questioned why the investigating officers in the case did not collect physical evidence. He also asked why there was no evidence collected from Khadija’s car. “Just the investigation officer saying he saw blood is not enough evidence and not collecting evidence was a grave mistake,” he noted.
He also questioned why Hussain had attacked Khadija in a crowded place. The relationship between the victim and the attacker was also brought under question.
Khadija’s lawyer defended saying that “Shah Hussain kept on insisting on marrying and Khadija kept on rejecting. This is a case of insistence and rejection.”
Read more: SC rejected plea to overturn conviction in Khadija Siddiqui’s stabbing case
Khadija and Hussain appeared before the court themselves and after hearing their perspectives, the bench declared their verdict to revert LHC’s decision and put Hussain behind bars for 5 years.
Khadija and her family were seen weeping in the court room and later while talking to press, Khadija said “Today is a victorious day, it is a landmark decision which shows that nobody is above the law in Pakistan,” she said. “The verdict will serve as a precedent for hundreds of Pakistani women who are harassed every day but are scared to go to the police or the courts.” She later tweeted on the matter as well.
Alhumdulilah!! Historic verdict. All shackles broken. Justice prevails, truth triumphs over falsehood!
— khadija siddiqi (@khadijasid751) January 23, 2019
Since 23rd January 2019, Hussain had been in Jail until his release on July 17th 2021.
Reaction
Recently, the cases of Noor, Quratulain and Saima have been highlighted on social media on which Khadija had also tweeted about how we always question the women’s intention and lifestyle before we point fingers at the murderer man. In her tweets, she also talked about how she had went through the similar behavior when her case was on trial.
I've been through this,and trust me it hurts,it terribly sears through every inch of your body,
when they say character shame you,
oh so why were you attacked? You must have done something to deserve 23 stabs. It breaks you apart!Please have some mercy on noors family. Plz
— khadija siddiqi (@khadijasid751) July 22, 2021
Ever since the news of Hussain being released has gotten out, people have been pouring love and support for Khadija including celebrities like Usman Khalid Butt and Mahira Khan.
Love and strength. Always.
— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) July 22, 2021
Sending love and light your way, Khadija.
— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) July 22, 2021
People also blamed Hussain and his father for using their connections to get a clean chit. Jibran Nasir also took the issue and tweeted on the matter questioning the remittance of sentence without Khadija’s consent and asking the government to take notice.
Dear @ImranKhanPTI @UsmanAKBuzdar @ShireenMazari1 @RajaBasharatLAW we all need an explanation on why Shah Hussain has been released 1.5 years earlier and not made to spend his entire 5yr term in jail? Your condemnation of attacks mean nothing when attackers are facilitated https://t.co/Z0r1YxE1gm
— M. Jibran Nasir 🇵🇸 (@MJibranNasir) July 23, 2021