State to appeal decision in Qandeel Baloch case before SC, says Maleeka Bokhari

The state has decided to appeal the decision in the Qandeel Baloch murder case before the Supreme Court, said Parliamentary Secretary for Law Maleeka Bokhari on Saturday.

Referring to the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) acquittal of the prime suspect and brother of Qandeel Baloch in her murder case, the MNA said that the murder of innocent women under “the false pretext of honour” and decisions which “disregard evidence and are premised upon the weak interpretation of the law cannot be allowed”.

Bokari further stated that abolishing the life imprisonment awarded to the suspect would set a “dangerous precedent”.

Read: Qandeel Baloch: Should we even expect justice for women in Pakistan?

The minister had previously said the state was “reviewing legal options” in the light of law and apex court judgments in the murder case of social media model Qandeel Baloch.

On February 14, 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.