Overview
- The Lahore High Court dismissed appeals by Abid Malhi and Shafqat Bagga on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, leaving the Anti-Terrorism Court's March 20, 2021 death sentences intact.
- The attack occurred on September 9, 2020, when a French woman of Pakistani origin and her three children were stranded on the Sialkot–Lahore Motorway and the woman was dragged from her car, robbed and gang-raped at gunpoint in front of her children.
- Prosecutors told the LHC they relied on mobile-phone location records, DNA matches from the scene, the survivor's in-court identification and a reported confession to build a case they called overwhelming.
- The original trial convicted the men of gang rape, kidnapping, robbery and terrorism-related offences and imposed death sentences plus life terms and other jail penalties.
- The case prompted nationwide protests and sharp criticism of police victim-blaming, and the LHC ruling is likely to renew public calls for better investigations, survivor protections and scrutiny of how sexual-violence cases are handled.