Qandeel’s brother acquitted on parents’ pardon

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday acquitted the prime suspect and brother of model Qandeel Baloch in her murder case, abolishing the life imprisonment awarded to him by a sessions court. The LHC’s Multan bench cancelled life imprisonment of the accused after witnesses deviated from their statements in the trial court and Qandeel’s mother submitted a reconciliation agreement stipulating parental pardon.

Waseem was accused of strangulating his sister in the name of honour. He was arrested in July 2016 and awarded life imprisonment on September 27, 2019 by a court in Multan. At a news conference in 2016, Waseem had admitted that he strangled his 26-year-old sister due to her social media activities. He is expected to be released later this week.

Qandeel had uploaded Facebook posts in which she spoke of trying to change "the typical orthodox mindset" of people in the country. She faced frequent abuse and death threats but continued to post pictures and videos seen as provocative. She had built a modelling career on the back of her social media fame, but also drew ire from many people.

Her killing sent shockwaves across the country and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media, spurring the government to tighten laws dealing with men who would kill a close relative in
the name of family honour. During the hearing on Monday, defending lawyer Sardar Mehboob argued before LHC Justice Sohail Nasir that the father of model and complainant had passed away, adding that the witnesses had also deviated from their statements in the trial court.

Also read: Qandeel Baloch's family forced out of home due to poverty

He said the sessions court had ignored the settlement reached between the parties. After hearing the arguments, the court acquitted Waseem by cancelling his life imprisonment. "He has been fully acquitted", his lawyer Mehboob told AFP, without giving further details.The court order has yet to be made public.

A government prosecutor also confirmed the acquittal saying Waseem’s mother had submitted a statement in the court that she had pardoned him.Waseem had filed an appeal in the court to dispose of the case. Five accused including Mufti Abdul Qavi and two brothers of the model have been acquitted in the case so far.

Qandeel’s parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution. But they later changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven. "Waseem may now walk free while Qandeel was condemned for stepping outside the bounds of what is deemed “acceptable' behaviour for women in Pakistan”, biographer Sanam Maher told AFP.

"After today's verdict, we may ask, who killed her?" she added. Three months after Qandeel’s murder Pakistan's parliament passed new legislation mandating life imprisonment for honour killings.
With input from Agencies