KARACHl: A sessions court has sentenced a man to 14 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing his underage female friend.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (Central) Mirza Tauseef Ahmed found accused Yasir who appeared on bail guilty and sentenced him to 14 years in prison, along with a direction to pay a fine of Rs1 million.
According to state prosecutor Hina Naz Shams, the 16-year-old victim testified that on June 9, 2023, she had gone to her friend’s birthday party. After the party, she went with her friend Yasir to a park in the Azizabad area.
However, she claimed that Yasir took her to his friend’s house, where he attempted to have ‘non-consensual sex’ with her, but she resisted and stopped him.
The victim submitted that after returning home, she was not feeling well and became depressed. She initially attempted to resolve the matter through a marriage proposal, which was refused by Yasir’s parents.
In her testimony, the victim informed the court that she had pardoned Yasir and had no objection if the court exonerated him of the charges.
However, the prosecutor opposed his exoneration and argued that the law was settled that in heinous, non-compoundable offences, an accused could not be acquitted on the basis of compromise statements made by the victim.
On the other hand, the convict denied the allegations levelled against him and claimed that the victim wanted to marry him, but the marriage could not materialise due to alleged threats and restrictions imposed by her own family, who asked him not to marry her.
However, the court rejected the defence’s pleas and noted that the convict had not recorded his statement on oath. It added that an accused could not claim acquittal on the basis of a compromise or forgiveness extended by the victim or her family in court.
The court noted that the legislature had intentionally enacted Section 377-B (punishment for sexual abuse of a person under the age of 18) of the Pakistan Penal Code with a strict mandatory minimum sentence of 14-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs1 million to create a strong deterrent against the sexual exploitation of minors.