Kanizan Bibi, born into a poor family in Pakistan, was working as a housemaid when she was arrested on 9th August 1989. She was accused of being an accomplice in the brutal murders of her employer's wife, Maryam, and five children, allegedly committed on 27th July 1989. The case (FIR No. 203/89) led to her conviction under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. On 7th January 1991, a Sessions Court sentenced Kanizan to death based on a confession extracted under severe torture during 20 days of police custody. Her employer, Khan Muhammad, was also sentenced to death and executed in 2003.
Kanizan's appeals were dismissed by the Lahore High Court in 1994 and the Supreme Court in 1999. Her mental health deteriorated after her sentencing, and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2006, she was transferred to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH), where she remains to this day. Medical reports, including one from 11th June 2015, confirm her severe mental illness and declare her unfit for execution.
Despite her condition, multiple mercy petitions were rejected. In 2018, the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of her case. Finally, in 2021, the Supreme Court commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment, acknowledging her mental health and the systemic failures in her trial. Her case exemplifies violations of domestic and international human rights laws, particularly concerning cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment under Articles 6 and 7 of the ICCPR.