2015 Kasur Child Abuse Scandal: LHC Acquits Two Convicts

A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Thursday acquitted two men after setting aside their life imprisonment in a case related to the 2015 Kasur child abuse scandal

A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday acquitted two men by overturning their life imprisonment sentences in a case connected to the 2015 Kasur child abuse scandal. The bench, consisting of Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Justice Muhammad Amjad Rafiq, granted the appeal filed by Haseem Amir and Faizan Majeed, contesting the verdict of life imprisonment imposed by an anti-terrorism court.

The appellants’ lawyer, Abid Hussain Khichi, contended before the bench that the trial court overlooked the facts of the case. Despite discrepancies in the witnesses’ statements, the trial court sentenced his clients to life imprisonment. Khichi urged the bench to accept the appeal and exonerate his clients based on the inconsistencies in the witnesses’ testimonies.

In 2016, an anti-terrorism court convicted the defendants, sentencing them to life imprisonment and ordering them to compensate their victims with Rs 300,000. This ruling came following their conviction in a case filed by the Ganda Singhwala police in connection with the scandal.

The Ganda Singhwala police had filed charges against the defendants for kidnapping and sexually abusing children in Kasur.

Following the revelation of the scandal in 2015, the police registered multiple cases against 32 individuals. However, the trial court only delivered judgments in three cases, while the defendants were acquitted in the rest.

In December 2023, the Lahore High Court had already acquitted three men—Haseem Amir, Aleem Asif, and Waseem—by overturning their life sentences in connection with the 2015 scandal.