LAHORE: A local court has sentenced Shah Hussain, guilty of stabbing fellow law student Khadija Siddiqui, to seven-years in prison on charges of attempted murder. Shah, a class fellow of Khadija, attacked her last year in May near Shimla Hill when she, along with her driver, had gone to pick her younger sister from school. The attacker wearing a helmet stabbed Khadija 23 times as she was just about to get into the car, leaving her critically injured in the process. Talking to the media outside the court, Khadija said that she is thankful to everyone who stood by in her misery. “I would like to thank everyone who supported me. I would thank the media, especially Shahzeb Khanzada and Maria Memon,” she said. She also lauded her lawyers for assisting her throughout the trial and thanked them for their efforts to seek justice. “I would also thank my lawyers, Younis Khan and Asif Jahangir. This was a great test of me and my faith. They put forward malicious statements about my character, but I had firm belief in God,” Khadija added. Earlier this year, Khadija described her despair in a private television talk show, saying that Shah Hussain, who belonged to an influential family bailed out after his initial arrest. In May this year, Khadija sat an examination under the police protection as Hussain also was in the same centre. On May 23, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah took notice of the delay in trial and ordered the court to conclude it within 30 days. The court had reserved its decision on July 27, after series of hearings over the past couple of months.