You lend Rs 500,000 to a relative. He does not pay back. You have his WhatsApp messages where he admits the loan. You take the phone to court. Will the judge accept the chat?
The short answer is yes, but only if you prove the chat is real. A screenshot alone is weak. The phone itself, with its records, is stronger. Here is what Pakistani courts accept as evidence, and what they throw out.
What is evidence under Pakistani law?
The law of evidence in Pakistan is the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984. It applies across the whole country, to courts, tribunals and authorities that hear cases. It replaced the old Evidence Act 1872. The full text of the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984 is published by the Sindh Judicial Academy.
Article 18 sets the basic rule. Courts only look at facts in issue and relevant facts. A fact in issue is what you and the other side are fighting about. Everything else stays out.
Article 2 explains when a fact is proved. The court believes it exists, or considers it so probable that a prudent person would act on it. That is the test.
Two kinds of evidence
Evidence comes in two forms. Oral evidence is what a witness says in court. Documentary evidence is what a document shows.
Article 70 says every fact, except the contents of a document, can be proved by oral evidence. If the fact sits in a written document, you must produce that document. You cannot just describe it.
Oral evidence must be direct, under Article 71. A witness can only say what he saw or heard himself. What another person told him is hearsay. On its own, hearsay is not accepted.
What counts as a document?
Article 2 defines a document widely. A writing, a printed page, a photo, a map, an inscription on metal or stone. All are documents. Electronic records count too, like emails, SMS and WhatsApp chats.
Documents are proved by primary or secondary evidence, under Article 72. Primary evidence is the original document itself, under Article 73. Secondary evidence includes certified copies, under Article 74.
Courts want the original, under Article 75. If you only have a photocopy, you must show why the original is missing and get the court's permission to use secondary evidence, under Article 76. Certified copies of public records are accepted on their own, under Articles 85 and 88. A public record is something kept by an official body, like a birth register or a court file.
Are WhatsApp chats and screenshots accepted?
Yes. Electronic records are legally recognised in Pakistan. Section 3 of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002 says no document or record can be denied legal recognition or admissibility just because it is in electronic form. The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication publishes the full text of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002.
The Qanun-e-Shahadat backs this up. Article 46-A makes statements recorded by an automated system relevant facts. Article 73 says a printout of an automated system is primary evidence, and the law presumes the system was working properly. Article 164, updated by the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023, lets courts accept evidence recorded through modern devices. It names WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, IMO and video calls.
So the chat can enter court. The harder question is weight. Can you prove the messages are really his, and not edited?
The Supreme Court made this point in Mian Khalid Pervaiz v The State, reported as 2021 SCMR 522. Call records alone, without proof of who spoke and what was said, were treated as unreliable. Digital data can be manipulated. Courts want the data tied to a real person and a real event. If the matter is a cyber crime, the FIA cybercrime complaint process in Pakistan starts with preserving this kind of evidence.
How to make electronic evidence strong
- Keep the original phone. Do not reset it, do not delete anything.
- Save the full chat, not one cropped line. Full chats show numbers and dates.
- Do not edit or annotate the screenshot. Editing invites a tampering claim.
- For serious cases, get a forensic report. An expert can tie the messages to a specific device and record a file hash, which is proof the file was not changed.
- If the other side denies the message is his, you may need to prove the security procedure behind the account, under Article 78-A.
Account books and official records
Entries in books of account regularly kept in business are relevant, under Article 48. But the law adds a warning. Those entries alone are not enough to make someone pay. You still need other evidence.
Entries in public records, made by a public servant in the course of duty, are relevant on their own, under Article 49. A death entry in the official register, a birth record, a land record. These carry real weight.
Dying declarations and experts
When a person is dead and cannot testify, his statement about the cause of his death can still be relevant, under Article 46. Courts treat it with care, because the person who made it cannot be cross examined. But it is not automatically thrown out.
Expert opinion is relevant where the court must decide a question of science, art, foreign law, handwriting or fingerprints, under Article 59. A fingerprint expert, a doctor, a questioned document examiner. The expert must be properly skilled in that field.
Who has to prove what?
Article 117 states the rule in one line. Whoever wants the court to decide in his favour must prove the facts he asserts.
In a criminal case, the prosecution must prove guilt. In a civil case, the party who claims must prove the claim. If you file a suit to recover money, the burden is on you to show the money was lent. The money recovery routes in Pakistan all start with proof.
What this means for you
Keep originals. Keep the phone. Keep receipts and bank slips. When a document matters, bring the original or a certified copy, not a blurry photo of a photocopy.
Before you file, know what the case will cost. Check what court fees in Pakistan look like, and keep your evidence safe from day one.
If an app told you what the law says, treat it as a lead, not a verdict. Our guide on what to check before you trust a legal AI in Pakistan explains the questions to ask.
And when your whole deal lives online, the law still backs it. The guide on online agreements in Pakistan explains when electronic signatures hold up in court.
Courts are even starting to use AI to manage cases. Our guide on AI in Pakistan's courts explains what judges actually use today.
More guides on Pakistani law are on the Lexiber blog, and you can start from the Lexiber home page.
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