September 27, 2025
By Ahmed Saeed
LAHORE
A special Anti-Rape Court in Lahore has convicted a man for raping a 21-year-old woman, sentencing him to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs300,000.
According to the court order, the incident occurred on June 11, 2024, when the accused Abdur Rehman invited the woman, T* (identity withheld under Section 26 of the Anti-Rape Act), to meet him at a café in Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital. The two had initially connected through a matchmaking mobile application.
“The duration of this meeting remained half an hour and when she took leave from the accused, he forcibly enticed her and took her (in a) car to his flat in Ali Town, Lahore. At his flat the accused committed rape with her and threatened her of dire consequences if news of this occurrence was communicated to anybody”, the judgement read.
However the rape survivor, after escaping from the flat, immediately lodged a complaint to the Nawab Town police station and underwent a medical examination. The medico-legal officer confirmed that she had been subjected to forceful sexual assault. Subsequent medical and DNA reports confirmed the presence of semen on her body and clothes which belonged to the accused.
Despite this, the case faced delays due to what the survivor described as lack of seriousness on the part of the police and prosecution, leaving her disheartened and almost ready to withdraw her complaint. She was later referred to the AGHS Legal Aid Cell after the accused sought post-arrest bail.
Supreme Court advocate Shabbir Hussain of the AGHS took up the case, filed an application for early commencement of trial, and represented the survivor during proceedings. After hearing arguments, the trial court found Abdur Rehman guilty of rape.
“The combined perusal of oral as well as the documentary evidence placed on the record, this court has arrived at unambiguous conclusion that the day of 11 June, 2024 was a bad day in the life of the ‘victim’ when she was sexually assaulted by the accused,” read the order. “When they first met in Jinnah Hospital, the victim was in a jovial mood and was expecting that she had been able to choose the right person, Abdur Rehman a clinical psychologist, for her martial life. However on that day luck was not on her side. On the pretext of marriage she was subjected to sexual assault. Her innocence and bona fide appear from this fact that she immediately reported this occurrence to the concerned authorities for taking action against the accused.”
The order added that the survivor’s testimony was corroborated by medical evidence and that, during the investigation, sufficient incriminating material strongly connected the accused with the commission of the offence.
‘Consent cannot be inferred’
Speaking about the trial, Advocate Shabbir Hussain said that the defence counsel had resorted to the character assassination of the survivor by suggesting that the sexual act was consensual between the two.
“However, we apprised the court that the Anti-Rape Act 2021 explicitly states that consent must be unequivocal and expressed through words, gestures, or any form of verbal or non-verbal communication, and it cannot be inferred. In this case, the survivor clearly stated on record that she never gave consent to any sexual activity, and that the accused took her to the flat deceitfully and by force,” he said.
The defence counsel had also tried to prove consent by asserting that there had been no marks of resistance or injury.
“The Anti-Rape Act 2021 also addresses this, stating that if a person does not physically resist the act of penetration, it should not be construed as consent to sexual activity,” specified Hussain.
He added that the Anti-Rape Act had proven beneficial, as it barred victim-blaming during trials and ensures speedy proceedings in special courts, keeping survivors’ hope for justice alive.
“In the present case, the survivor was also approached by the family of the accused, who first offered her money and later threatened her to withdraw the case,” he revealed. “She received calls from unknown numbers, and even at her workplace, messages were conveyed to pressure her. However, at AGHS we provided her with psychological counselling to ensure she did not lose hope,” said Shabbir Hussain.
‘Training of judges, police necessary’
Nida Aly, Executive Director of AGHS Legal Aid Cell, welcomed the verdict, saying it would help restore public confidence in the justice system.
“This is a big victory and shows that the Anti-Rape Act 2021 is finally delivering results. It works because successive governments did not abandon it, despite it being introduced under a PTI-led government,” Aly said.
She noted that while the law has raised conviction rates in sexual crimes from 2 to 5 percent, more training and capacity-building of stakeholders was needed to fully benefit from it.
“The catch is that rape is a non-compoundable offence and cannot be settled out of court. Even if a survivor resiles from their statement, the Anti-Rape Act empowers courts to continue the trial and convict the accused,” she explained. “But due to lack of awareness, judges and prosecutors often acquit the accused on the sole basis of the survivor’s retraction.”
To bridge this gap, AGHS has held several training workshops with police, judges, prosecutors, and service providers.
“These workshops aim to sensitize all stakeholders on handling sexual crimes with empathy and to give them a clearer understanding of the Anti-Rape Act,” Aly added.