Two cases, one justice system 

I have been watching two court cases with great interest for the past few years. I am not a lawyer. I am not a judge. But I do believe in one thing with all my heart that every person deserves justice, no matter who they are or where they come from.

The two cases I have been following are the Lahore Motorway rape case and the Noor Muqaddam murder case. Both are deeply painful stories. Both ended recently with the courts upholding the death sentences of the convicted criminals. And I have to say, as someone watching from the outside, I am glad the law held firm.

Let me tell you what happened in these two cases, as simply as I can.

In September 2020, a Pakistani woman who also held French citizenship was driving on a motorway near Lahore with her young children late at night. Her car ran out of petrol. She tried to call for help, but that stretch of road was not covered by the motorway police. Two armed men broke her car window, dragged her and her children into the bushes, and committed a terrible crime. They also robbed her of her cash, jewelry, and bank cards. The two men and now condemned convicts, Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali, were later caught, tried, and sentenced to death. The Lahore High Court has now confirmed those sentences.

The second case is even harder to describe. In 2021, 27-year-old Noor Muqaddam was murdered in a brutal and savage way at the home of Zahir Jaffer. Noor was the daughter of a former diplomat. The crime was captured on CCTV footage. Zahir was convicted and sentenced to death. His lawyers argued he had mental illness — bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression. On his medical conditions, the lawyer sought a lenient term. The Supreme Court of Pakistan heard all of this, asked hard questions, and then rejected the appeal. The death sentence stands.

These crimes were horrific. The criminals deserve every bit of the punishment given to them. On that, I have no doubt at all. But there is something that has been sitting heavy in my mind as I followed these two cases. Something I feel I must say out loud.

Both of these cases received enormous attention — in Pakistan, and even here in the United Kingdom where I read about them. People protested in the streets. Politicians made speeches. The media covered every hearing. And yes, justice was eventually done.

But I keep asking myself: why did these two cases capture so much attention?

Part of the answer, I believe, is that both victims came from privileged backgrounds. The motorway victim was a French citizen. An educated, well-traveled woman. Noor Muqaddam was the daughter of a former ambassador. These were not invisible people. They had connections. They had voices. And the people around them had the power and the resources to make sure the system paid attention.

I think about all the women and men  in Pakistan, and honestly in my own country too, who suffer terrible crimes and never see justice. They do not have famous fathers. They do not have international citizenship. They do not have lawyers who can argue for years in the highest courts. Their cases do not make the news. Nobody protests for them. And the system, far too often, simply moves on.

I want a world, and a Pakistan, where justice is not a prize for the privileged. Where every victim gets the same fight that Noor Muqaddam got.

I am not saying the courts were wrong to deliver justice in these cases. They were absolutely right. But I am saying that the attention, the outrage, the speed of justice — all of that was shaped, at least in part, by who the victims were.

The courts did the right thing in both these cases. I salute them for that. But real justice means doing the right thing for everyone. Rich or poor. Famous or unknown. Connected or forgotten.