Pakistan Court Acquits Qandeel Baloch’s Brother For Her Murder Despite His Confession. He Spent Less Than Six Years In Prison!
Honour killing is when someone is murdered by an outsider or a family member seeking to protect their ‘dignity and honour of the family’. But the truth is that there is no honour in killing par logon ko kaun samjhaye! And sadly this is something that continues to happen across the world. While mostly we associate honour killing with love and intercaste marriage but often women who break patriarchal norms are often killed by orthodox people in the name of honour killing. One such case was that of Pakistani social media sensation Qandeel Baloch who was murdered by her own brother because of her defiant posts against patriarchal norms and for breaking the social norms. The social media star was 26 years old in 2016 when she was murdered by her brother Muhammad Waseem. But shockingly Qandeel Baloch’s brother has been acquitted after serving less than six years in prison for what is believed to be one of the most notorious honour killings in the country.
View this post on Instagram
On Monday, the lawyers told the media Muhammad Waseem has been ‘fully acquitted’ by the Multan court. No other details were revealed by the lawyer and the court order has not been made public. Earlier, a law in Pakistan allowed perpetrators to seek forgiveness from the victim’s family to have their sentences commuted by a new change in the law that does not allow them to do so any longer. But at the same time, it is up to the judge’s discretion to decide if murder should be defined as honour killing. In Qandeel Baloch’s case, her parents were initially adamant about getting their son punished for his crimes but later changed their mind and said that they would want him to be forgiven. The social media sensation’s mother had ‘given her consent’ to pardon Muhammed Waseem, claimed a lawyer as per a report by NDTV. Waseem may be released later this week.
Speaking to the media, a biographer, Sanam Maher was quoted by NDTV saying, “Waseem may now walk free while Qandeel was condemned for stepping outside the bounds of what is deemed ‘acceptable’ behaviour for women in Pakistan. After today’s verdict, we may ask, who killed her?”
Qandeel Baloch Murder Case
Pakistan model & internet sensation Qandeel Baloch was reportedly killed by her brother in Multan pic.twitter.com/yQkGWx2KnE
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 16, 2016
This case became a high profile case of honour killing in recent times, more so because it was a case where a woman was ‘punished’ by a male family member for damaging the repetition of the family and bringing ‘shame’. The 26-year-old social media sensation was known to break social norms and live life on her own terms. She would regularly share posts against the patriarchal roots of the society and condemn them. In June 2016, Qandeel Baloch sought police protection after she received death threats following a controversy that led to her personal details including images of her passport and national identity card were broadcast on news. Soon after on July 14, 2016, the social media star spoke to media and shared that she feared for her life and sought police protection but received no response on it. She had also revealed her plans of moving abroad post-Eid.
Also Read: 87-Year-Old Woman Gets Raped. A 48-Year-Old Woman Murdered Over WhatsApp Status. How Are Women Supposed To Feel Safe In India?
On July 15, 2016, Qandeel Baloch was murdered by her brother while she was sleeping at her parents’ home in Multan. She was first drugged and then stranged by Muhammad Waseem. The social media sensation’s father was the first to report her death. He was also the one to accuse his sons Waseem and Aslam Shaheen of killing their sister for her money. Soon after Waseem confessed to the murder and said that he could not ‘tolerate’ the disrepute that Qandeel Baloch was bringing to the family’s honour.
Woman Gets Son-In-Law Killed In A Shocking Case Of Honour Killing
