Pindi Bench cites serious procedural flaws, lack of forensic evidence in its acquittal
LHC Rawalpindi Bench. Photo: File
The Lahore High Court bench in Rawalpindi overturned the death sentence awarded to Aneeqa Atiq, who had been convicted in a high-profile blasphemy case, investigated by the FIA Cyber Crime Wing, Rawalpindi.
On Tuesday, the court acquitted Aneeqa on technical grounds, citing serious procedural flaws in the prosecution’s case. Delivering its verdict, the court comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Waheed Khan observed that the verdict could not be sustained as the prosecution failed to satisfy the court with basic evidentiary and legal requirements.
The court noted that the accused and the complainant were unrelated and that no legal or personal relationship had been established between them. It further pointed out that no forensic examinations had been carried out on the mobile phone allegedly belonging to the defendant, nor was there any evidence that the hand-held device was actually her property.
Likewise, complainant Hassanat Farooq’s mobile phone was never subjected to forensic examination, and the prosecution presented no evidence showing any direct or verifiable link between the two.
The complainant’s lawyer argued that Farooq and Atiq had become acquainted while playing the online game PUBG, where the alleged exchange of offensive messages took place. However, the bench found that such acquaintance did not constitute evidence of guilt, especially in the absence of forensic corroboration or verified records of communication.
The court therefore declared the death sentence invalid on technical grounds, stressing that the statutory prerequisites for such a conviction were not met.
Atiq had been on death row in Adiala prison for the past three years. The FIA Cyber Crime Wing had registered the case against her in 2020 and in 2022 an Additional District and Sessions Judge had sentenced her to death and forfeiture of property under Sections 295-A, 295-C and 298-A of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The defense maintained that the case was baseless and malicious, claiming that Atiq had been falsely implicated in a “conspiracy-driven prosecution”. Her lawyer argued that no credible evidence existed that she had ever sent any blasphemous messages via WhatsApp.
After the publication of the brief order, defense lawyer Raja Imran Khalil Advocate told reporters that the court had acquitted his client on purely technical grounds without delving into the merits of the case, and confirmed his intention to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The written verdict must be sent to Adiala prison, after which Atiq’s release is expected later this week.
