Christians across Pakistan have expressed deep disappointment after the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted the remaining three men who had been sentenced to death in connection with the 2014 burning alive of a Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur District, Punjab, Pakistan.
On July 10, 2026, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, acquitted the three-remaining death-row convicts, granting them the benefit of doubt due to weaknesses in the prosecution's case and flaws in the evidence presented. The bench also dismissed the Punjab government's appeal against the Lahore High Court's earlier acquittal of 102 other accused in the same case.
With this ruling, no individual remains convicted in one of Pakistan's most notorious cases of religiously motivated mob violence. Those who had previously been convicted were ultimately acquitted either by the Lahore High Court or the Supreme Court.
The case stems from the tragic events of November 4, 2014, when Shahzad Masih and his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, both Christian brick kiln workers, were falsely accused of committing blasphemy. An enraged mob brutally tortured the couple before throwing them into a brick kiln, burning them alive in broad daylight.
Following the incident, police registered a case against hundreds of named and unidentified suspects. In 2016, an Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced five men to death after finding them guilty, while several others received varying prison terms. On appeal, the Lahore High Court acquitted two of the five death-row convicts but upheld the death sentences of Irfan, Mehdi, and Riaz. The Supreme Court has now acquitted the remaining three accused, bringing the criminal proceedings against all death-row convicts to an end.
An enraged mob brutally tortured the couple before throwing them into a brick kiln, burning them alive in broad daylight.
Former Punjab Minister for Human Rights Ejaz Augustine expressed disappointment over the verdict. He questioned whether acquittals in such serious cases could weaken deterrence against crimes including murder, rape, and attacks on vulnerable communities. Riaz Anjum Advocate, council for the affected family, said the case exposes broader structural weaknesses in Pakistan's criminal justice system, particularly in cases involving religiously motivated mob violence.
Anjum, who is also President of the Christian Lawyers Association Pakistan (CLAP), called for an impartial review of investigative and prosecutorial practices, arguing that reforms are necessary to strengthen the rule of law and improve accountability in future cases involving mass violence. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan (CBCP) and the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), the Catholic Church's human rights body, also expressed grave concern over the Supreme Court's judgment.
In a joint statement issued on July 14, Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan and Chairperson of the NCJP, together with Reverend Father Bernard Emmanuel, National Director of the NCJP, and Naeem Yousaf Gill, Executive Director of the NCJP, described the judgment as part of a continuing pattern in which perpetrators of serious crimes against religious minorities escape punishment.
The NCJP leaders referred to previous incidents, including the August 1, 2009, attack on a Christian settlement in Gojra, where at least ten Christians were killed and all accused were later acquitted. They also cited the March 2013 attack on Joseph Colony in Lahore, where all 115 accused were acquitted due to a lack of evidence. They further referred to the June 2024 killing of Nazir Masih, who died after being brutally assaulted by a mob over blasphemy allegations, noting that many of those arrested were later declared innocent and released.
The NCJP leadership called for concrete measures to ensure justice for religious minorities and demanded that police officials responsible for weak investigations and prosecutions in such cases be held accountable. Bishop Samson Shukardin appealed to the Christian community to remain peaceful and continue praying for strength to endure hardship while remaining steadfast in their faith.
The Church leaders stressed that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done. They urged the government to strengthen criminal investigations, improve witness protection, and ensure that failures in prosecuting cases of mob violence do not continue to deny justice to victims and their families.