In an uncommon ruling, a Pakistani session court condemns a man to 80 lashes

A guy who falsely accused his ex-wife of infidelity and refused to acknowledge his child’s paternity was given an extremely unusual penalty by a session court in Karachi, Pakistan: 80 lashes.

Extra Sessions and Districts Fareed Qadir was sentenced to at least 80 lashes by Judge Malir Shehnaz Bohyo. Section 7(1) of the Offence of Qazf (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance, 1979, which states that “Whoever commits qazf liable to had shall be punished with whipping numbering eighty stripes,” was the basis for the contentious ruling.

In the ruling, the court stated: “It is very evident that the accused is a liar and that she falsely accused the complainant of her daughter’s illegitimacy. As a result, he is found guilty and given 80 stripes each under Section 7(1) of the 1979 Qazf Ordinance.

The judge’s decision further stated that the accused, who was only given a whipping sentence, could remain free on bond as long as he agreed to appear at the time and location set by this court to carry out the whipping punishment after the court of appeals confirmed the conviction and sentence and he provided a bail bond in the amount of Rs. 100,000.

In addition, the court decided that Fareed Qadir’s testimony would not be allowed in any court of law after his conviction.

According to case information, the ex-wife of Fareed Qadir, a convicted felon, filed a complaint in court claiming that she was married to him in February 2015 and that they shared a minimum of one month of living together. Fareed’s wife gave birth to a daughter in December 2015.

“My spouse, Fareed, neglected to pay our daughter’s bills or even to bring her back to his home. I obtained a decree in my favor from the family court after filing a lawsuit there. The court ordered that Fareed support his daughter and myself, his ex-wife,” said Fareed’s ex-wife.

“However, throughout the procedures, my husband filed two petitions with the court, asking to have the newborn girl’s DNA tested and to disown his daughter. Fareed subsequently withdrew these petitions,” she said.

However, the accused Fareed refuted the accusations made by his ex-wife, claiming that they had just been together for six hours.

My spouse and I were together for a mere six hours. Then she moved out and didn’t come back,” he said.

Sentencing to 80 lashes is a penalty that has not been seen since the Zia ul Haq period of the 1970s until the late 1980s, even if the case may or may not have been handled differently under Pakistani law.

“Throughout my last 14 years as a lawyer, I have not observed any convictions of flogging under Section 7 of the Qafz Ordinance,” prosecutor Saira Bano said.

She said, “This conviction for flogging might be the first time in decades that corporal punishment of this kind has occurred.”