The Pakistan Supreme Court has overturned death sentences for three men convicted in the horrific 2014 murder of a Christian couple who were beaten by a mob and burned alive after Islamists accused them of desecrating the Quran.
A report by Morning Star News and Christian Daily International says a three-judge panel of the high court in Islamabad, the nation’s capital, argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case due to inconsistent evidence. The Pakistan Supreme Court also dismissed an appeal that challenged the earlier acquittal of 102 other defendants in the case who were allegedly part of the mob.
The murder victims, Shahzad Masih, his pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, and their unborn child, were forced into a blazing brick kiln on Nov. 4, 2014, by a Muslim mob of at least several hundred after they captured and severely beat the couple.
An anti-terrorism court in 2016 handed death sentences to five men in the case, with two others receiving two-year prison sentences. Later, an appeals court overturned two of the death sentences. The remaining three—Muhammad Irfan, Mehdi Khan and Muhammad Riaz Kumbh—were cleared in the most recent ruling.
Originally, according to Morning Star News, the suspects numbered more than 600. Prosecutors eventually whittled that down to 105 suspects, resulting in seven convictions. No charges were filed in the death of the unborn child.
Basharat Masih, a Christian attorney, was in the courtroom for the high court’s hearing on July 9, according to news reports. He said the judges in the case expressed sympathy to the victims’ families before announcing the decision to acquit.
Masih said the defense used inconsistencies to undermine the convictions, even though the attorney general’s office argued the couple’s burning alive was undisputed and met the criteria for terrorism-related offenses.
“It is heartbreaking to see the remaining accused acquitted,” Masih wrote. “At the same time, the prosecution failed to present a legally sustainable case, and those deficiencies ultimately benefited the accused.”
Lazar Allah Rakha, another Christian attorney familiar with the case, said the decision exposed ongoing weaknesses in Pakistan’s justice system.
“This verdict should prompt serious reflection on how the prosecution was conducted,” Rakha said. “In a case involving such an egregious crime, meticulous trial preparation, effective examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and a comprehensive legal strategy were essential. Deficiencies in these areas inevitably weakened the prosecution and contributed to the acquittals.”
Church leaders in Pakistan, where Christianity is technically legal despite persistent persecution and strict Muslim blasphemy laws, said the ruling brings to mind other similar cases where acquittals were given in the murder of Christians. They include a 2009 attack in Gojra, Pakistan, which claimed at least 10 Christians; a 2013 attack in Lahore where 115 people were acquitted because of insufficient evidence; and the mob killing in 2024 of Nazir Masih Gill in Sargodha, Pakistan, for alleged blasphemy.
According to Morning Star News, the state has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy, but there have been extra-judicial killings, mob violence and “prolonged pretrial detention” for blasphemy defendants.
On Open Doors 2026 World Watch List, Pakistan ranked as the eighth-worst nation for Christians facing severe persecution.
Scriptures to ponder in light of global persecution: Isaiah 41:10, Acts 7:54-60, Matthew 10:27-29
