High Court Upholds Death Penalty for Notorious Motorway Gang Rape

​The Lahore High Court has officially dismissed the appeals of Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, upholding the death sentences handed down to them for the brutal 2020 gang rape of a French-Pakistani mother on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway.

​The two-member bench rejected the defense’s claims of procedural gaps, ruling that the forensic, digital, and eyewitness evidence against the men remains ironclad.

​A Crime That Shook the Nation

​The incident, which occurred on September 9, 2020, sparked unprecedented nationwide outrage. The victim was driving out of Lahore with her three young children when her vehicle ran out of fuel on a secluded stretch of the highway. While she waited for assistance with her doors locked, Malhi and Ali smashed the car windows, dragged her into a nearby field, and assaulted her at gunpoint in front of her children. The attackers also robbed the family of cash, jewelry, and debit cards before fleeing.

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​Law enforcement tracked the perpetrators down within days using mobile phone triangulation and DNA profiling. Ali later confessed to the crime before a magistrate, and the survivor positively identified both men during the proceedings.

​In March 2021, an anti-terrorism court convicted both individuals of gang rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, and terrorism, sentencing them to death by hanging.

​Institutional Backlash and Public Outrage

​The case became a flashpoint for women’s safety and systemic reform in Pakistan, largely exacerbated by the institutional response. Following the attack, then-Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh faced severe public backlash after publicly questioning why the victim was driving late at night without a male companion and why she hadn’t checked her fuel gauge.

​The victim-blaming remarks ignited mass protests across major cities, with demonstrators demanding the officer’s termination, comprehensive legal reforms, and stricter punishments for sex offenders. The sustained public pressure ultimately led the government to pass the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance, which established special courts and prohibited the controversial two-finger virginity testing of assault survivors.

​With the high court’s dismissal of the latest appeal, the legal avenues for the convicts are rapidly closing, marking a definitive milestone in a case that reshaped the national discourse on sexual violence in Pakistan.