Stab victim hopes for justice as SC takes up case tomorrow

LONDON: A brave Lahore law student who was stabbed 23 times is returning to Pakistan after taking leave from studies at law college here after Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa fixed her case for hearing on January 23 (tomorrow) before a 3-member bench he is heading.

Khadija Siddiqi, 24, was stabbed over two dozen times on a busy Lahore street in May 2016 as she collected her six-year-old sister Sofia Siddiqui from school. She was attacked by her classfellow Shah Hussain who didn’t like Khadija Siddiqi refusing to acknowledge him. Later she was blackmailed and threatened by the perpetrator but she ignored it thinking it would soon pass. Little did she know that driven by revenge, he would stab her multiple times to kill her, while also slashing her younger sister who yelled in pain trying to save her elder sister from repeated stabbings.

On Monday evening, Khadija Siddiqi left from Heathrow Airport for Islamabad to attend the hearing in person and once again took leave from her studies. Now a student of bar-at-law at the City Law University, she spoke to this correspondent ahead of her departure. She said: “I am hopeful as this case serves as a beacon of hope for women all across Pakistan. I am glad that the newly sworn in Chief Justice has fixed my case for hearing. My morale was a bit down since the case was not heard since the last suo motu hearing in June 2018. My hope has become alive again, having complete faith in our judiciary. I sincerely hope justice will be served, because during this entire struggle the truth has indeed prevailed. It is imperative for the sanctity of law and deterrence that the perpetrators receive due punishment. It’s a test case and it’s important for the future of violence against women in Pakistan, that it serves as the landmark one. Justice ought to be done not because I suffered at the hands of the perpetrator but because if such a crime goes unpunished the hopes of all those looking up to this case will shatter. I have set an example by facing all sorts of insidious and desperate allegations to coerce me into giving up with courage. Thousands of cases like this go down the drain because the majority do not have the recourse to justice or are silenced before they even try. It’s not only my struggle. It’s the struggle of the society. I decided to take the stand for myself and for everyone else who believes in the law and justice. ”

She recalled the horror she was put through when Shah Hussain attacked her as she helped her sister in the car. “There was a push from behind and then the first slash and then the stabbings didn't stop until my driver intervened. I thought it was over and had no chance of survival. I read the Kalma and resigned while I was being stabbed repeatedly. It’s a miracle that I am alive and fighting for justice. The attacker didn’t even spare my baby sister. If such beasts are allowed to run rampage in the society, we will only end up as a lawless society.”

Khadija Siddiqi struggled to highlight her case but the system failed her until her case captured the imagination of the nation. “I am so much thankful to Shahzeb Khanzada and the Geo News for highlighting my case. Shahzeb through his programme became my voice, my family’s voice and spoke out for justice. The civil society activist and lawyers Jibran Nasir and Hasan Niazi did all they could to support me and campaigned for my case. Tehmina Durrani provided much needed moral support and then so many other people joined the voice and it turned into this movement and I am thankful to all for the large outpouring of support.”

When attacked and left nearly killed, Khadija was in the second year of her law degree. She passed her exams while running in between the hospitals, her law college and the courts in the next two years, until she finally graduated in August 2018. She came to the UK in September last year to study bar-at-law. She plans to return to Pakistan after finishing studies to help the victims of injustice. “I spent a lot of time struggling to get justice in Pakistan and realised 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 and, something has to be done about it,” said Khaidja. She hopes to return to London in a week’s time to resume her studies. “I am taking time off from my classes and will be missing important lessons and assignments,” said Khadija about her law school.

A Lahore judicial magistrate had handed down seven-year rigorous imprisonment to Shah Hussain after finding him guilty of attempted murder on July 29, 2017. However, a sessions court in March 2018 commuted the sentence to five years. Last year, the Lahore High Court acquitted the convict on the basis of insufficient evidence. The former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar took notice of the acquittal in June 2018 through a suo motu. The newly sworn in Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa has now listed the Khadija Siddiqi stabbing case for January 23 when he will hear the appeal against the LHC’s decision to acquit the accused. The former CJP, as the head of a two-member bench, had forwarded the appeal to another two-member Supreme Court bench led by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa at that time.