ISLAMABAD : The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Thursday upheld an earlier judgment of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and acquitted five out of the six accused in the Mukhtaran Mai rape case.
T he apex court ordered the immediate release of the five accused, unless other cases were registered against them.The sentence of one of the accused, Abdul Khaliq, has been upheld. Khaliq is serving a life sentence.Mukhtaran Mai expressed her disappointed with court’s verdict, stating that she no longer trusted Pakistan’s judicial system.According to the verdict, court acquitted all five accused except one Abdul Khaliq, who was sentenced life term in jail. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan, on Monday upheld the decision of the LHC and acquitted all the accused except one in the Mukhtaran Mai rape case. Renowned lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan appeared as Mukhtaran’s counsel.Expressing her distress over the verdict outside the SC premises, Mukhtaran Mai said now she would take recourse to Allah’s court only. Voicing distrust on the verdict, Mukhtaran Mai said she has lost confidence in judicial system; now itis Allah Who she would appeal to.Mukhtaran Mai said she was disappointed at the Supreme Court (SC) verdict, which acquitted five accused save one, Abdul Khaliq.Various human rights groups also expressed discontent over the verdict of Mukhtaran Mai case. Human Rights activist Farzana Bari also voiced her dissatisfaction over the verdict, saying the verdict disappointed all the women of the country. The distraught Mukhtaran Mai said her life was at jeopardy after the acquittal of the accused.Mukhtaran was raped in 2002 on the order of a village court in the name of honour. At least 18 accusedwere nominated in the case, among them eight were acquitted by a trial court and six were sentenced todeath. The Anti-Terrorism Court in Dera Ghazi Khan had heard the case and sentenced the perpetrators to death.Later, the LHC acquitted five accused and converted the death sentence of an accused, Abdul Khaliq, into life imprisonment.The then chief justice of Pakistan, Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, on March 14, 2005 took suo motu notice of the decision, and ordered the arrest of all the accused. The federal government and Mukhtaran had also filed petitions in the apex court against the LHC decision. The case remained pending for six years. PPI