Lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir led the charge on social media regarding the "early" release of Shah Hussain who was convicted in 2016 for stabbing Khadija Siddiqui 23 times in Lahore. Hussain was sentenced to five years but news reports surfaced of his release Friday, a year-and-a-half before the completion of his sentence.

Nasir asked how Hussain could be released with the victim's consent and without him qualifying for release on good behavior as per the rules?

In 2017 Hussain was sentenced to a seven-year imprisonment for trying to kill Siddiqui, then his class fellow. His sentence, however, was reduced his sentence by two years by a sessions court.

The Lahore High Court acquitted Hussain in 2018 on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to establish its case. The Supreme Court, however, restored the sentence of five years. He was due to be released in July 2022.

Hussain's lawyer, speaking to Dawn, said his client did not receive any special favor from the government. Maqsood Buttar, who is also president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, said "Hussain was supposed to come out of the jail next month as per the sentence calculated by the jail officials after affecting the remissions available in the rules."

Buttar said the issue of extending remissions in the sentences was one that was between a convict and the home department. Dawn quoted him as saying "the government was not bound to seek consent from the complainant or the victim before extending the benefit of remissions to a convict."

Lawyer Hassaan Niazi tweeted that Siddiqui's side was not represented in court.

People took to Twitter to express their dismay at Hussain's release which comes amid a general sense of despair over the rising crimes against women.