A large number of civil society and rights activists gathered at the Liberty Roundabout on Saturday evening to express solidarity with Khadija Siddiqi, a law student who was stabbed 23 times by the son of an influential lawyer last year. Khadija survived the brutal attack but her assailant is yet to be punished for the crime.
Prominent among those who participated in the event were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leaders Rufus Solomon, Dr Seemi Bukhari and prominent rights activist Shakeel Naz, Mrs Najma Emmanuel, Rajil Joshua, Advocate Sadequain Gardner and Karamat Ilyas Chaudhry.
The protesters demanded justice for Khadija Siddiqi and sought the court’s intervention in the matter.
Addressing the participants, PTI’s minorities’ leader Rufus Solomon said that it was a mockery of justice that Khadija’s assailant was allowed to move freely in society while the victim and her family were being threatened and harassed by the family of the accused.
“There must be rule of law in the country and everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law. On one hand, the government has released alleged Islamic State suicide bomber Noreen Leghari while on the other, Christian blasphemy convict Asia Noreen is in prison for the last six years on trumped up charges. Khadija’s case is yet another example of how the law is manipulated in favor of the influential and powerful,” he said.
Najma Emmanuel, a prominent rights activist, said that she was appalled by the manner in which the police had handled Khadija’s case.
“We all have daughters and this incident has instilled fear in families that any powerful person can get away with a heinous crime by using their influence,” she said, adding that it was imperative that the courts serve justice to the victim so that the masses’ faith in the system could be restored.
PTI’s leader Dr Seemi Bukhari said that it was time that the masses come out in support of each other to counter oppression by the powerful.
“We demand justice for Khadija Siddiqi. Her case should be re-investigated and the accused should be punished for his crime irrespective of the influence of his father,” she said.