Home Latest News Qandeel Baloch’s Brother Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Qandeel Baloch’s Brother Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

by AFP

Illustration by Minhaj Ahmed Rafi

Muhammad Waseem’s lawyer has vowed to appeal the ruling in Pakistan’s highest profile ‘honor’ killing case

The brother of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch was on Friday convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison in the country’s highest-profile “honor killing.”

Baloch, who shot to fame for her risqué selfies—tame by Western standards, but considered provocative in conservative Pakistan—was strangled in July 2016. Her brother Muhammad Waseem was subsequently arrested. Days later he told a press conference that he had no remorse over what he did, saying that “of course” he had murdered his sister and that her behavior had been “intolerable.”

His lawyer, Sardar Mehmood, told AFP the court in Multan had found his client guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment, in a long-awaited verdict. “Inshallah [God willing], he will be acquitted by a high court,” he said.

Earlier, Baloch’s mother Anwar Mai said she had hoped her son would be acquitted. “He is innocent. She was my daughter and he is my son,” she said.

Baloch’s murder made international headlines and reignited calls for action against an epidemic of so-called “honor killings,” in which a victim—usually a woman but sometimes a man—is murdered for flouting patriarchal social codes.

Women have been burned, shot, stabbed and strangled for offenses such as choosing their own husband or, in Baloch’s case, bringing “shame” on their family by celebrating their sexuality.

The killings are usually carried out by a close relative. Under Pakistan’s Qisas (blood money) and Diyat (retribution) law, they can then seek forgiveness from a victim’s relatives, most often members of their own family.

Three months after Baloch’s murder, parliament passed new legislation mandating life imprisonment for honor killings. However, whether a murder is defined as a crime of honor is left to the judge’s discretion, meaning that killers can theoretically claim a different motive and still be pardoned.

In Baloch’s case, her parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution. But, heartbroken at the thought of losing him also, they changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven.

International revulsion at the killing had seen the Pakistani state take the unprecedented step of declaring itself an heir alongside the parents, however, forcing the case to move ahead.

Some of Baloch’s better-known actions included offering to perform a striptease for the Pakistani cricket team, and donning a plunging scarlet dress on Valentine’s Day. She attracted criticism and threats but was perceived by many, including young people, as breaking new ground in a country where presenting yourself as a Kim Kardashian-like figure can be seen as a bold, political act of women’s empowerment.

The roots of “honor” killings lie in tribal social norms, which remain prevalent across South Asia and dictate the behavior of women in particular, though men can be victims too.

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1 comment

RIFAAT JAFARI September 28, 2019 - 3:45 am

Qandeel Baloch s murder was wrong by any standards. However her actions were more than risque. They were outrageous. Qandeel was misled by people who took advatange of her disadvantaged life. I feel sad that she fell into the trap and while no one has the right to take law into their own hands considering the social status, lack of education, outrage at violation of religious values I can at least understand what motivated him to strangle Qandeel. I feel the sentence should be reduced. May Allah forgive Qandeel.

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