Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch's brother, who was arrested for her murder in 2016, was acquitted on Monday, 14 February.
Muhammad Waseem was apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder case of his sister who was a social media star, then popular for her defiant posts.
The brother had said that he felt no remorse for strangling his sister as her behaviour was "intolerable".
"I am proud of what I did. I drugged her first, then I killed her. She was bringing dishonour to our family," Waseem had stated about the honour killing.
The lawyers stated that Waseem was acquitted on Monday after serving less than six years in jail.
"He has been fully acquitted by a court in Multan," Waseem's lawyer Sardar Mehboob had informed AFP.
The court order is yet to be made public.
The 2016 Horrid "Honour Killing"
The case had become one of the country's most high-profile "honour killings".
Waseem, in 2016, had strangled Qandeel Baloch, his sister, to protect the family’s “honour”.
(Photo: The Quint)
Qandeel had caught public attention after posting bold videos and pictures on Facebook, that many considered obscene.
In a society which values sons over daughters, Muhammed Azeem, Qandeel's father, was different. He never discriminated between her and her brothers.
Azeem had said that he will make sure his son is punished, even if it means his execution at the hands of law. However, in a turn of affairs, Azeem had later withdrawn his statement, refusing to testify against Aslam (another brother Qandeel’s) whom he had earlier declared as one of the suspects in the case.
Pakistan sees over 1,000 honour killings of women and has loopholes in the law. It used to allow the murderer to walk scot-free, if he was 'forgiven' by the family. However, under a recent law change, perpetrators cannot be forgiven any longer, subsequently getting their sentences changed.
Even then, whether a murder is described as a 'crime of honour' or not depends on the judge's discretion. Thus, killers or murderers can, theoretically, use a different motive to be spared and be, thus, pardoned.
(With inputs from AFP and The Indian Express.)
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