Elon Musk praised Pakistan's judicial system after the Lahore High Court (LHC) upheld the death sentences of two men convicted in the motorway gang-rape case and rejected their appeals.
In a post on the microblogging site X, formerly Twitter, Musk expressed his wish for a similar justice system in Western countries.
“Bravo, Pakistan! This is what we should be doing in the West.”
He posted comments after the LHC’s Wednesday ruling in which the court decided to maintain the previous verdict that had awarded death sentences to Abid Malhi and Shafqat Baga in the high-profile motorway gang-rape case, dismissing their appeals against the anti-terrorism court’s verdict.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Mahmood Bajwa announced the verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.
The court upheld the death sentences imposed by the ATC and all other sentences handed down to the convicts.
During the proceedings, counsel for the appellants argued that the trial court had failed to properly evaluate the facts and had not adequately considered the defence’s stance. He requested the court to set aside the death sentences and order the release of the convicts.
However, Prosecutor Raheela Shahid opposed the appeals, contending that the ATC had delivered a lawful and merit-based judgment. She maintained that substantial evidence existed against both the convicts and urged the court to dismiss the appeals.
Punjab Prosecutor General Farhad Ali Shah, at a press conference, said that it was a challenge for the state to bring the case to its logical conclusion and that the Prosecutor Department had played a vital role in securing the accused's punishment.
The investigation was initiated against the accused based on the victim's identification. Accused Malhi's DNA was collected from the crime scene, while the second accused, Bagga, was arrested through the CDR. The prosecution worked day and night on this case to ensure that the accused were punished, the Prosecutor General said.
According to case records, an FIR was registered at Gujjarpura Police Station, Lahore, on September 9, 2020. Subsequently, Anti-Terrorism Court No. 1 Lahore sentenced both men to death on March 20, 2021, for rape. The trial court had also awarded the convicts 14 years’ imprisonment along with a fine of Rs250,000 each for robbery.
They were further sentenced to life imprisonment for abducting the victim’s children and five years’ imprisonment for damaging her vehicle. The convicts had challenged the ATC verdict before the Lahore High Court on March 25, 2021.
