LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday issued a detailed judgment confirming the death sentences awarded to two convicts in the high-profile 2020 Lahore-Sialkot Motorway gang-rape case, ruling that the prosecution had established the charges beyond reasonable doubt through overwhelming ocular, medical and forensic evidence.

Through a short order, a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa had on June 3, 2026, dismissed separate criminal appeals filed by convicts Abid Ali alias Malhi and Shafqat Ali alias Bagga.

The court today issued its detailed written judgment on the appeal.

The bench also confirmed the death sentences through the mandatory capital sentence reference while rejecting the Punjab government’s appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment sentences awarded to the convicts under Section 365-A (kidnapping for ransom) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Gujjarpura police had registered the FIR following the horrific incident that shocked the nation in September 2020.

According to the prosecution, the victim, a Pakistani-origin French woman, was travelling with her children when her vehicle ran out of fuel on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway during the early hours of September 9, 2020.

While she was stranded at the motorway, two armed men allegedly smashed the car window, dragged the woman and her children into nearby bushes, subjected her to gang rape and robbed her of cash, jewellery, ATM cards and other valuables before fleeing.

Following an extensive investigation involving the Crime Investigation Agency, Punjab Forensic Science Agency and other law enforcement agencies, police arrested the accused and collected forensic, DNA and other scientific evidence linking them to the crime.

On March 20, 2021, an antiterrorism court convicted both accused under multiple provisions of the PPC and the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997.

Besides awarding them the death penalty under Section 376(ii) PPC for gang rape, the trial court sentenced them to life imprisonment under Section 365-A PPC, 14 years rigorous imprisonment for robbery, five years’ imprisonment for mischief causing damage and directed payment of compensation (daman) to the victim.

Their properties were also ordered to be forfeited to the state.

Before the LHC, defence counsel argued that the prosecution’s case suffered from contradictions and that the convictions were based on unreliable evidence. They sought acquittal, contending that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The prosecution, however, maintained that the victim’s testimony remained consistent and was fully corroborated by independent evidence, including medical examinations, DNA analysis, forensic reports, recoveries and other circumstantial evidence collected during the investigation.

After examining the entire record, the LHC bench held that the prosecution had successfully proved the appellants’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The bench observed that the victim’s statement was trustworthy, confidence-inspiring and received substantial corroboration from scientific and medical evidence.

It ruled that the minor discrepancies pointed out by the defence were natural and did not affect the core prosecution case.

The bench further held that the trial court had properly appreciated the evidence and that no illegality, misreading or non-reading of evidence had been demonstrated to warrant interference in the appeal.

The judgment said the appellants/convicts exhibited complete disregard for human dignity, bodily autonomy and the sanctity of womanhood.

“Such conduct constitutes an aggravated form of sexual violence and falls amongst those offences which shock the judicial conscience,” it added.

It further noted that the societal repercussions of crimes of this nature extend far beyond the individual victim, as they create a pervasive sense of vulnerability among women and their families and erode the public’s confidence in their safety while travelling on motorways, roads and highways.

“In these circumstances, any undue leniency would amount to misplaced sympathy, diminish the deterrent effect of the law, and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice,” said the judgement.

It concluded that the appellants do not deserve any concession in the matter of sentence.

While confirming the death sentences, the bench declined the state’s request to enhance the life imprisonment sentence awarded under Section 365-A of the PPC to capital punishment.

The bench observed that the trial court had exercised its sentencing discretion judiciously and that no exceptional circumstances existed to justify enhancement.

Consequently, the bench dismissed both appeals filed by the convicts, maintained all convictions and sentences awarded by the trial court, confirmed the death sentences through the capital sentence reference and rejected the state’s appeal seeking enhancement of punishment.

India’s main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, demanded on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi step down over the police crackdown against student protests demanding reforms in the education system.

Modi must resign “for destroying the future of India’s youth”, the Congress Party leader said in a post on social media as he led a march with other MPs towards the prime minister’s residence in New Delhi.

“The government doesn’t want to take any accountability, nor does it want to have a debate on it in parliament,” said Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the lower house.

Gandhi’s comments came after police said 60 protesters were injured in clashes with security forces in the heart of New Delhi on Monday, marking the biggest street rally in the capital for about five years.

The Cockroach Janata Party movement vowed to press ahead with their campaign until the education minister resigns, a day after at least 180 people were injured in protests in New Delhi.

Thousands of protesters gathered in the heart of the Indian capital on Monday, demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and wider examination reforms, in a show of force by the CJP online movement.

The CJP has won millions of followers on social media since its launch in May, fuelling one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won his third term in office in 2024.

Shameful day

“We won’t stop. Pradhan has to be sacked,” the CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka said in a social media post.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged protesters on Tuesday not to lose hope.

“They want to break our spirit,” he said, perched on top of a lorry. “Do not let them silence you.”

Organisers and hundreds of protesters remained camped at the Jantar Mantar protest site today, many of them calling for wider changes in the education system.

On Monday, police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters to stop them from marching on to parliament, in one of the biggest street rallies in Delhi in around five years.

At least 178 people were injured in clashes between protesters and security officials, Delhi Police said.

That included 118 police personnel, including senior officers, it said while criticising what it described as “unruly, aggressive and violent behaviour” by a “violent mob”.

“During the scuffle, around 60 protesters were also reported to get injured,” it said in a statement late on Monday.

Protest organisers condemned the “high-handedness” of the authorities and said hundreds of protesters had been injured.

“It’s a shameful day in the history of Indian democracy that people, honest students, who had come for a genuine issue were brutally beaten by the Delhi police,” Ranka told AFP.

Ranka, who met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday, said the government had yet to respond to their demands.

Protesters said they would not relent.

“We have become even more fearless now,” said 25-year-old law student Chandra Pratap Sishwi. “When I saw people being beaten up by the police like that, my blood boiled.”

Parliament was adjourned on Tuesday after the opposition benches demanded a discussion on the alleged “brutality unleashed on students”.

Despite rapid economic growth, millions of people in the world’s most populous nation still struggle to find stable and well-paying jobs, fuelling discontent.

The protests follow a series of examination scandals that have shaken confidence in the country’s testing system.

Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following the leak of a question paper.

That came on top of another scandal related to the online marking system of tests taken by nearly 2m high school students.

QUETTA: Three excise officials have been abducted at gunpoint following an attack on their department’s checkpost on the Dalbandin–Taftan Highway in Balochistan’s Chagai district, police sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

According to the sources, the attack was carried out by unidentified men on Monday evening.

They said around 30 armed men surrounded the checkpost that was set up temporarily for routine checking, held the officials on duty at gunpoint and later abducted them. The sources added that the attackers also took away two official vehicles and weapons.

Police and other law enforcement personnel rushed to the site after being informed of the incident and cordoned off the area, the sources said, adding that a search operation has been launched to trace the attackers and ensure the safe recovery of the abducted officials.

They said an investigation was under way to ascertain the identity of the assailants and determine the route they used to flee.

The incident takes place as Balochistan continues to face security challenges.

Earlier this month, security forces and law enforcement personnel jointly launched Operation Shaban in Balochistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat on July 6. During that assault, armed attackers kidnapped and killed 27 police officers.

A monthly security assessment released in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said that after two consecutive months of improvement, Pakistan’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May, driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The report said Balochistan emerged as the most affected province during the month. The province recorded 71 terrorist attacks, compared with 34 in April, representing a 109pc increase.

The deteriorating security situation was further reflected in a surge in kidnappings, it said. Of the 54 abductions reported nationwide during May, 52 occurred in Balochistan alone, highlighting the growing operational reach and confidence of terrorist groups in the province, it said.

On July 9, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the country’s civil and military leadership had taken a “mutual and singular decision” to end terrorism after multiple major terrorist incidents in Balochistan.

He made the remarks at a meeting in Quetta of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, with Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir also present.

PM Shehbaz’s statement came a day after the military Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addressed a press conference, pointing the finger squarely at India and Afghanistan for being behind recent attacks in Balochistan.

He specifically mentioned “three major terrorist incidents” in recent days — an armed attack on the outskirts of Quetta on July 5, an assault on a police post in Ziarat on July 6, and an ambush of an army convoy in Bela on July 7.