Justice or Joke? The Phoenix, the Dishonored and the Glass Of Water!

Pakistan is notorious for various things around the world; terrorism, extremism, intolerance and etc. However one other thing for which this South Asian nation is notorious for is its failed justice system, there is no doubt that Pakistan's justice system has been and is in tatters for as long as I can recall. We all are aware of how cases remain pending for years in Pakistani courts, the well to do get away with their crimes and the poor suffer as justice is butchered every day in the country. From the well-known 'judicial murder' of the former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to the recent acquittal of Shah Hussain in the Khadija murder attempt case, the situation of Pakistan's justice system can clearly be analyzed.
Khadija Siddiqui a law student from Lahore was stabbed twenty three times in broad daylight by her ex-boyfriend Shah Hussain on a busy road in 2016. Khadija was left in a pool of blood while the monster fled the scene. Miraculously by the grace of Almighty God Khadija survived the the injuries and resurrected once again like the Phoenix bird, she was determined to fight for her case and was extremely confident as all evidence was there, there were so many eye witnesses, these facts were obviously the reason why Khadija wanted to take up her case to the court of law and get Shah Hussain punished despite knowing what a mess the justice system is.
The trial started in May 2016 and in July 2017 Shah Hussain was convicted of murder and sentenced to seven years in prison, in March 2018 the sentence was reduced to five years and on 4 June 2018 the Lahore High Court acquitted Shah Hussain on the basis that the prosecution couldn't prove their case properly.

Khadija Siddiqi

My fellow countrymen and women and I were shocked at this decision of the court, how can a criminal like himself be acquitted after such obvious evidence; attempted murder in broad daylight in front of so many eye witnesses. After digging up I found out that Shah Hussian is the son of a well-known lawyer that's when it struck me that obviously this was the only possible reason to this bizzare and illogical verdict. I mean I don't have a thorough knowledge of the law and cases and how they are prepared but come on this was something pretty obvious and clear. The man was already convicted but what fresh piece of evidence prompted the the Lahore High Court to take this decision? well there wasn't really any fresh solid evidence proving his innocence and seemed to me like mere assumptions and basis of a weak judgement
While we all pray that justice is delivered to Khadija as the Chief Justice has taken notice, it is not to be forgotten that Khadija is not alone stranded in the need of justice. There are various such cases.

Mukhtar Mai

Mukhtar Mai, a woman from Muzzafargarh was gang raped by five to six men in her own village in 2002 after a feud between her tribe and another powerful tribe. The draconian system of the tribal council ordered this to be done. The council thought that she would commit suicide after this but much to their dismay she took up her case to the courts so her rapists could be tried and convicted so that justice is delivered to her. In September of the same year an ATC sentenced six of those men to death, in 2005  the Lahore High Court acquitted 5 of the 6 convicted on 'insufficient evidence' (see the similarities). The acquittal was suspended and the case was taken to the Supreme Court which in 2011 acquitted all the accused. She still went on with her case and before 2011 she was threatened by government officials and other such people to withdraw the case or else they'll make sure the verdict won't be in her favour, the Mastoi clan of her village which opposed Mukhtar's tribe had such influence which explains that till this day justice has not been delivered to her and the accused roam around freely. This is one of the most high-profile rape case of Pakistan. These two cases show the influence of the wealthy in Pakistan which can overturn such obvious decisions and verdicts of the Pakistani courts.

While apart from this there are so many innocent men and women sentenced to death in Pakistan but are mentally ill and not fit for execution. The Justice Project Of Pakistan an organization has taken up the moral responsibility to highlight such cases, these are also the people who have been failed by Pakistan's criminal justice system (http://www.jpp.org.pk/ here you can get information regarding all such cases).

Aasia Bibi

The case of Aasia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman is yet another example of the failure and a disgrace for the country as a whole. This woman was sentenced to death over a glass of water, in 2009 in her village she got in an argument with a Muslim woman who refused to give her own glass to drink water just because she was a Christian, a 'Choori' and impure. Aasia Bibi outraged by this told the woman that Jesus Christ had sacrificed himself for his people but what did her Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings be upon him) did? this was clearly a question in response to the hatred against her own religion and would you expect her not to say anything in defense of her religion? Aasia Bibi was just debating with this woman who herself could have said a lot of things in defense of her religion but instead she accused her of disrespect and the series of events after this shaped one of the most high-profile cases in Pakistan involving the governor of Punjab the late Salman Taseer who supported Aasia Bibi but was asssasinated by his own bodyguard for this. Aasia Bibi remains in prison till this day on a glass of water even after almost a decade. I feel pity for all such victims and hope the best.
Despite this unfortunate situation of the judiciary there has been no strict or firm action by the head of the institution. Few days before I read a news on Facebook that the the Chief Justice wanted to make sure that Indian and Turkish shows are not aired on our channels because they harm 'Islamic values', while that is another debate I am still frustrated that with such conditions when innocent are suffering in prisons while the criminals are walking free and when victims are eagerly awaiting justice why is the Chief Justice so concerned about TV Shows be it Indian or Turkish?
Is this justice or a mere joke?