F.P.
Report
ISLAMABAD:
Supreme Court of Pakistan has set the January 23 for the hearing of Khadija
Siddiqui, a student of law and stabbing survivor on January 23 case.
Chief
Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa will head a three-member bench of
the Supreme Court and it will hear the case on Wednesday.
Khadija,
who is currently studying in the United Kingdom, departed for Islamabad from
Heathrow airport on Monday evening to attend the hearing.
She
told media that she is hopeful as this case serves as a beacon of hope for
women across Pakistan. I am glad that the newly sworn-in chief justice fixed my
case for hearing. My morale was a bit down since my case had not been heard
since the last suo moto hearing in June 2018.
It
is pertinent to mention that Khadija who was stabbed 23 times by her classmate
urged that “justice ought to be done not because she suffered but because if
such a crime goes unpunished then the “hopes of all those looking up to this
case will shatter.
“Thousands
of cases like these go down the drain because the majority do not have
resources to seek justice or are silenced before they even try. It’s not only
my struggle, it’s the struggle of the whole society. I decided to take a stand
for myself and for everyone else who believes in law and justice,” the law
student maintained.
Khadija
came to the UK in September last year to study bar-at-law and plans to return
to Pakistan after finishing her studies to help victims of injustice.
“I
spent a lot of time struggling to get justice in Pakistan and realized through
my own experience that there is a mafia culture in Pakistan. I plan to return
to Pakistan and help others gain a voice through legal assistance. We cannot
allow injustice to continue permeating in the society as it is, something has
to be done about it,” she stressed.
On
May 3, 2016, Khadija was stabbed 23 times by Shah Hussain, her classmate on
Lahore’s Davis Road. He managed to flee from the scene of the crime but was
captured on a mobile camera by an eyewitness.
After
the registration of a case, the accused requested a sessions court for bail
before arrest, which was turned down. Hussain, whose father happens to be a
renowned lawyer, was aided by a number of other lawyers to flee from court
premises after his request was turned down.
In
September 2016, Hussain’s lawyer once again challenged the sessions court
verdict in the Lahore High Court, but the court maintained the earlier verdict.
Three
days later the accused surrendered himself to police and was sent to prison. He
remained behind bars for nearly two months and was subsequently released on
December 1, 2016, after the sessions court granted him bail.
Khadija
filed an appeal against the court’s decision, but it was dismissed.
On
July 29, Lahore judicial magistrate sentenced Hussain to seven years in prison,
however, on June 4, the Lahore High Court acquitted Hussain. Former chief
justice Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the acquittal in June 2018.
