May 16, 2025
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
After languishing in prison for over 13 years, Waris Masih, a Christian man from District Muzaffargarh, has finally been acquitted of double murder charges by the Lahore High Court. Represented by AGHS Legal Aid Cell, his case—marked by delayed justice, faulty investigation, and glaring judicial oversights—underscores the urgent need for reform in Pakistan’s criminal justice system.
Masih was arrested in 2013 in connection with the alleged murders of his former wife Kaneez Fatima and her second husband Muhammad Ali. The FIR No. 476/12 had been registered on November 6, 2012. The complainant, Muhammad Iqbal, claimed he had purchased land from the deceased Muhammad Ali, who had converted his religion and married Kaneez Fatima—previously married to Waris Masih.
The FIR alleged that seven accused, including Masih and an unidentified individual, armed with pistols, axes, and sticks, attacked and killed the couple. Iqbal, along with Attaullah and Maqsood Masih, were named as eyewitnesses in the FIR, which stated that Masih threatened Ali, accused him of abducting his former wife, and opened fire, killing both Ali and Fatima.
The FIR also claimed that Masih had discovered his wife had remarried and converted to Islam while he was serving a prior sentence in jail. Upon his release, he allegedly conspired to murder them both.
Masih remained at large for nearly a year before his arrest in 2013. While six of the accused were acquitted by the Additional Sessions Judge in Kot Addu on November 3, 2020, due to lack of evidence, Masih alone was sentenced to death on two counts of murder.
But his fate changed after tireless legal efforts by the AGHS Legal Aid Cell, a Lahore-based legal advocacy organization that offers pro bono legal services to marginalized communities. After years of appeal and a meticulous review of the case, the Lahore High Court finally acquitted Masih in 2025, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
“This is another victory for AGHS Legal Aid Cell,” said Advocate Shabbir Hussain, who represented Masih. He detailed the numerous legal and investigative lapses that marred the case.
“These were not just minor loopholes,” he said. “The case was riddled with fundamental flaws that made the conviction entirely unsustainable. To begin with, there was an unexplained delay of nearly 12 hours in lodging the FIR, which clearly indicated afterthought and consultation rather than a spontaneous report.”
Hussain said that the eyewitnesses were mere chance witnesses—they had no reasonable explanation for being present at the crime scene, and their statements contradicted one another in key aspects, making their testimonies unreliable. Hussain also pointed out that the alleged motive was flimsy at best.
“The prosecution claimed Masih committed the murders out of revenge after hearing about his ex-wife’s remarriage, but there was no evidence to support this claim—it was entirely speculative. The forensic evidence outright failed to connect him to the crime,” he stated. “The bullets recovered from the crime scene didn’t match the weapon allegedly recovered from Masih. Moreover, no source of light was mentioned or recovered, even though the incident occurred at night.”
He further highlighted that the postmortems were delayed, weakening the credibility of the medical evidence. “The entire case collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions. There was no confidence-inspiring or trustworthy evidence left on record.”
“The court was not convinced about the presence of the eyewitnesses at the spot at the relevant time,” said Hussain. “These circumstances rendered their testimony unworthy of reliance.”
Masih had denied all allegations
When questioned about how such flawed cases still result in death penalties at trial court level, Hussain expressed deep concern. “There are so many other cases in which the death penalty should not be given under legal parameters, but the trial court still hands it down. We don’t know if trial court judges are under pressure or what.”
AGHS Legal Aid Cell’s contribution to Masih’s acquittal is part of a much broader and longstanding commitment to justice. Founded in 1980 and registered in 1987 by the late human rights icon Asma Jahangir, AGHS has built a legacy of defending Pakistan’s most vulnerable groups: women, children, religious minorities, transgenders, persons with disabilities, labourers, and victims of human rights violations.
A legacy of legal activism
Between 1989 and 2021, AGHS conducted 928 prison visits. Over the last five years alone, it has filed 5,899 legal cases, offered free legal consultations in 25,814 cases, and received over 3,400 distress calls through its emergency helpline. In 2024 alone, AGHS handled 1,679 cases: 598 in lower courts, 49 in High and Supreme Courts, and filed 325 bail applications. It also provided legal support to the Violence Against Women Center (VAWC) in Multan, dealing with 707 cases of violence against women.
Alia Malik, Associate lawyer at AGHS, told Voicepk, “AGHS works not just to defend individuals, but to reform the overall justice system. When we started, the most vulnerable group was women and children—and that has been our prime focus ever since. Religious minorities and transgenders have also remained a priority.”
Malik highlighted AGHS’s advocacy on family laws and divorce procedures. “Previously, women would wait three years for a divorce, only for cases to be dismissed. That wasted the prime of their lives. Now, courts are bound to decide within six months. That’s a huge achievement.”
She further noted that AGHS has bravely taken up blasphemy cases—highly sensitive and dangerous work. “There was much risk back then. But AGHS has always focused on the work, despite knowing our limitations.”
“Whenever I see a woman coming to AGHS,” she said, “we make sure she leaves with hope, awareness, and access to free legal support that makes her life a little easier.”
Recently, AGHS also successfully secured the conviction of a perpetrator in an attempted rape case—a significant step toward raising Pakistan’s rape conviction rate, which historically lingered at 3% but is now improving.
Rubina Shaheen, Women Protection Officer at AGHS, stressed the systemic issues contributing to miscarriages of justice. “The prisons in Punjab have a capacity for around 37,000 prisoners, but currently house nearly 68,000—almost double the limit. Of these, about 50,000 are under-trial prisoners, including children and minorities. This raises serious questions about our judicial system’s efficiency.”
“Organizations like AGHS are a blessing,” said Shaheen. “They meet prisoners, hear their stories, and fight their legal battles. But the system is broken. Many prisoners should have been released years ago, but due to judicial negligence, they continue to suffer. Sometimes, relief only comes after death sentences—or after the prisoners die.”
She acknowledged that while overt religious discrimination within prisons may not be common, socio-economic vulnerability plays a huge role. “Discrimination always targets the vulnerable—whether they are from the majority or minority communities.”
The acquittal of Waris Masih is not just a personal victory—it is a damning indictment of systemic failings in Pakistan’s justice system. His case lays bare the urgent need for judicial accountability, prison reform, and an overhaul of the investigative process. Until then, thousands of innocent lives remain in limbo behind bars.