MULTAN: A Pakistani man who murdered his celebrity sister was freed on Saturday after a court ruled it was not an “honor killing,” lawyers said, allowing their mother to pardon him.
Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death in 2016 by her brother Muhammad Waseem, who described her suggestive behavior on social media as “intolerable.”
In response to public outrage, Pakistan passed legislation supposedly closing a legal loophole that allowed family members to forgive those behind so-called “honor killings,” imposing a mandatory life sentence instead.
But after less than six years in prison, an appeal judge ruled that Baloch’s murder could not be defined as a crime of honor, dismissing his confession.
In line with Pakistan’s other laws on murder, the mother was allowed to grant his freedom.
“Waseem has been released from the prison in compliance with the order of honorable Lahore High Court,” his lawyer Sardar Mehboob told AFP.
“He is a free man now,” he added.
Waseem, 38, was released from jail in the eastern city of Multan after being acquitted on Monday.
Maleeka Bokhari a woman parliamentarian said the government was “undertaking a review of legal options” against the acquittal.
Earlier, Pakistan’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had said the government will challenge the verdict at Pakistan’s top court.
“We as a nation should be ashamed of such (legal) system,” Hussain said on Twitter.
Baloch became famous for her flirty and defiant posts which flew in the face of the nation’s deeply conservative mores.
Waseem was arrested immediately after her death and later sentenced to life in prison for strangling her — brazenly telling the media he had no remorse.
The case became the most high-profile “honor killing” of recent years — where women are dealt lethal punishment by male relatives for purportedly bringing “shame” to the reputation of a family.
The court’s verdict published on Friday said he had been “acquitted from the case on the basis of compromise,” saying a confession from the killer “cannot be considered more than a piece of paper.”
In Baloch’s case, her parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution, but they later changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven.
A lawyer for the mother said she had given “her consent” to pardon him.
Brother freed over ‘honor killing’ of Pakistani social media star
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Brother freed over ‘honor killing’ of Pakistani social media star
- Qandeel Baloch was strangled in 2016 for bringing ‘dishonor’ on the family through her videos
- In 2019, a trial court sentenced her brother Waseem to life imprisonment after he confessed to murder
Pakistan, Libya discuss defense and counterterrorism cooperation during army chief’s visit
- Military says Field Marshal Asim Munir met Libyan Commander-in-Chief Khalifa Belqasim Haftar during the visit
- Unlike several other states in the region, bilateral defense collaboration remains limited between the two countries
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Libya discussed enhancing defense cooperation, with a focus on training and counterterrorism partnership, during a visit by Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir to the North African country, the military said in a statement on Thursday.
Pakistan and Libya established diplomatic relations in 1951, with ties particularly close during the era of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, when Tripoli positioned itself as a supporter of Muslim causes and developing countries, including
Pakistan. Relations have been more restrained since Libya’s political upheaval in 2011.
According to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Munir met Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, commander-in-chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, and Lt. Gen. Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief, during the visit.
“Both sides underscored the importance of collaboration in training, capacity building and counterterrorism domains,” ISPR said in a statement.
“Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening defense ties with Libya, based on shared interests,” it added.
ISPR said Munir was accorded a guard of honor by a contingent of the Libyan Armed Forces on arrival and that the talks also covered matters of mutual interest, regional security dynamics and avenues for expanding military-to-military cooperation.
The Libyan military leadership appreciated the professionalism of the Pakistan armed forces and expressed a desire to expand defense cooperation between the two countries, the statement said.
Unlike Pakistan’s relations with some Gulf and Middle Eastern states, there is currently no significant defense or military cooperation between Islamabad and Tripoli, with engagement remaining limited amid Libya’s prolonged political instability.
