Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench has acquitted a woman who was sentenced to death and imprisonment on blasphemy charges, ordering her immediate release.
According to reports, Aniqa Atiq was sentenced to death in January 2022 by a special court of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Rawalpindi for allegedly sending blasphemous messages. The conviction was overturned on Wednesday after a detailed hearing.
A two-member bench, consisting of Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan and Justice Chaudhry Waheed, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the case against the accused.
Aniqa Atiq was the first Muslim woman and the third woman overall to receive a death sentence in a blasphemy case. The other two women, Asia Bibi and Shagufta Bibi, belonged to the Christian community and were later acquitted as well.
During the appeal hearing, Aniqa’s lawyer, Advocate Saif-ul-Malook, argued that the case was based on false allegations. He pointed out that the cybercrime authorities did not collect any forensic evidence to support the charges.
He told the court that the FIR was filed ten days after the alleged incident in April 2020, and that the authorities never seized Aniqa’s mobile phone for investigation.
When Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan asked the prosecution whether a forensic examination of the phone had been conducted, they replied that the phone did not belong to Aniqa but to another woman, and therefore it was not sent for analysis.
The judge questioned why the woman who owned the phone or SIM card was not made a co-accused in the case. The court observed that since no evidence was presented on record against Aniqa, sentencing her to death was unjustified.
The bench also questioned the complainant, identified as Hasnat Farooq, saying it was unclear how he remained in contact with a woman for a year and a half despite having no religious connection with her.
The court then accepted Aniqa Atiq’s appeal and ordered her acquittal.
The case was originally registered by the FIA Cybercrime Wing in Rawalpindi in 2020 on the complaint of Hasnat Farooq.
It included charges of blasphemy, religious insult, and violations under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. Aniqa had denied all charges when she was indicted.