LAHORE: A girl, who was almost killed after being stabbed 23 times by her classmate in Lahore, has appealed the society to raise voice in her support and the judiciary to grant justice by re-examining her case.

Khadija Siddiqui, a law graduate, was stabbed by her classmate, Shah Hussain, on Lahore's Davis Road, on May 3, 2016. The suspect fled the scene, but was captured on a mobile cam by an eye witness.

A few days later, Khadija identified her perpetrator and got him booked on charges of attempted murder. Ironically, Khadija's younger sister, whom she had gone to pick from school, was also there when she came under the brutal attack and witnessed the entire episode.

She was somehow saved by her driver, who tied to take control of the attacker, forcing him to flee from the scene.

The episode was witnessed by hundreds of people in front of a hotel on Davis Road.

After the registration of a case, the accused, Shah Hussain, requested a sessions court for bail before arrest, which was turned down. Hussain, whose father happens to be a renowned lawyer, was aided by a number of other lawyers to flee from court premises after his request was turned down.

In September 2016, Hussain's lawyer once again challenged the sessions court verdict in the Lahore High Court, but the high court maintained the earlier verdict.

Three days later the accused surrendered himself to police and was sent to prison. He remained behind the bars for nearly two months and was subsequently released on December 1, 2016, after the sessions court granted him bail.

Khadija filed an appeal against the court's decision, but it was dismissed.

The girl on Wednesday appeared on Geo News' program 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath'.

Asked as to why did Hussain attacked her, given that they had been friends in the past, the girl said: "We were friends, but I distanced myself from him due to his violent behaviour at times. Hussain would hack my accounts, call my father over petty issues and coerce me. Onl he can answer what made him attack me in such brutal manner."

Khadija had and Hussain had no communication for nearly a year, before the latter attacker her. Asked did she anticipate any repercussions, she replied "No! It was all of a sudden and abrupt."

"You attempting to kill someone and that too in front of her younger sister, but there is no accountability for you in the society," she speaks painfully of the accused being out on bail.

Questioned is it due to the flaws in the system or lawyers' pressure that her perpetrator got out, the law student says, "This is 'Wukla Gardi'. I have seen lawyers swarming courtrooms, pressurising my lawyer. It also scares the judges at times.

"There are loopholes, but not as much to cause such prolonged delays. It is because that the powerful keeps pressurising, blackmailing the victim party."

Did father of the accused pressurise or approach you? Asked anchorperson, Shahzeb Khanzada.

Khadija replied, "Yes, he approached us. He told me 'You can't win this case. How far can you take it?"

"But I am standing my ground for I let go, then this would more such avenues will be opened," she said, adding that the accused father also requested her to forgive his son. "I told his father that I would have forgiven his son had I found him unlike the accused."

When inquired how does she see herself and the accused appearing in their exam on May 19 under the same roof, Khadija said: "This is terrorising for me. It traumatises me making me think as to how would I attempt the paper."

Questioned what does she want now, the victim girl said the police investigations clearly suggest the accused committed the crime. "I appeal people with daughters and sister to support me. I appeal the judiciary to listen to my voice, reopen the case and review the decision to grant bail to the accused."