An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore has sentenced three individuals to seven years in prison each for their roles in the honey-trap and kidnapping-for-ransom case involving renowned screenwriter Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar.
ATC Judge Arshad Javed announced the verdict on Monday, following the court’s earlier decision to reserve judgment in the high-profile case.
The three convicts – Amna Urooj, Zeeshan Qayyum, and Mamnoon Haider – were found guilty of luring Qamar to a private residence under false pretences, secretly recording him, and orchestrating his abduction for ransom.
Eight other individuals named in the case – including Hassan Shah, Tanveer Ahmad, Qaisar Abbas, Rasheed Ahmad, Falak Sher, Mian Khan, Yasir Ali, and Javed Iqbal – were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The case first came to light in July 2023, when Qamar was allegedly abducted in Lahore after being invited to Arooj’s apartment under the pretext of discussing a professional project.
He was reportedly held for ransom and released several days later. He filed a police complaint on 21 July, prompting an investigation that led to multiple arrests.
According to the prosecution, the abduction was part of a financially motivated scheme, and Qamar’s legal team had urged the court to impose the death penalty on those found guilty.
In a related legal development, a petition seeking to register a case against Qamar was dismissed by a local court in Lahore.
The application was filed by Zainat Bibi, mother of Amna Urooj. During the hearing, held before Additional Sessions Judge Ilyas Rehan, Qamar’s lawyer, Mudasir Chaudhry, informed the court that the petitioner intended to withdraw the application in order to make amendments. The court accepted the request, thereby closing the matter for the time being.
Meanwhile, the defence offered a conflicting version of events. Urooj’s lawyer claimed that Qamar’s manager had initially approached her with a professional proposal, which later turned personal.
It was alleged that Qamar arrived at a second meeting under the influence of alcohol and pressured Arooj for a physical relationship, threatening to leak photographs if she refused.
The defence also argued that both Qamar and Urooj were later abducted by Hasan Shah, who was identified as the alleged mastermind but later acquitted. Urooj further claimed she was tortured by police and coerced into admitting the incident was a honey trap.
