PAKISTAN: LHC ACQUITS DEATH ROW PRISONER IN WOMAN’S MURDER CASE

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on October 1, 2025 acquitted Sarfraz Ahmed, a death row prisoner, in a woman’s murder case registered at Ghalib Market police station, citing non-matching DNA evidence and flaws in the investigation.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry and Justice Sardar Akbar Ali Dogar set aside the sessions court’s verdict, observing that the accused deserved the benefit of the doubt. Earlier, the defence counsel argued that Ghalib Market police had registered an FIR on October 3, 2020, against unidentified suspects over the murder of Rubina Naz.
He argued that although the victim’s body was recovered, the DNA match was not conducted initially, and samples were only sent after Sarfraz Ahmed’s arrest. The counsel further contended that despite insufficient evidence, the trial court sentenced Ahmed to death, while a co-accused, Javed Masih, had already been acquitted in the same case.