During the hearing of the appeal, Qandeel’s parents informed the court that they had submitted a request to pardon their sons only and their appeal did not extend to other accused in the case.
It merits mention here that Qandeel’s parents had on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in a local court saying that they had forgiven their sons and the court should acquit them too.
The affidavit also said that Qandeel’s murder case was registered on July 16, 2016, while changes to the anti-honour killing laws were introduced three months after the incident and was therefore not applicable to this particular case.
The new legislation prevents killers from walking free after being pardoned by the families of victims. Per this law, the state would be a plaintiff in murder cases and any convicted person has to spend a minimum of 12 years in jail.
Later, the court adjourned the case till August 24.
Social media star Qandeel Baloch was strangled and killed at her home in Multan, Punjab, by her brother Waseem. Once details of the murder came to light, Baloch’s father Muhammad Azeem Baloch had lodged a murder case against his son Waseem, accomplices Haq Nawaz and others. Later in 2016, the parents of the slain model also named two of their other sons in the case, namely Aslam Shaheen and Arif.
In his first appearance before a special magistrate, Waseem had admitted to first drugging and then killing his sister at her home.
On Wednesday, the issue of Qandeel’s parents seeking pardon for their sons was a hot topic of discussion over the social media with many voices requesting the justice system to reject the pardon and acquittal appeal. Many commentators were of the view that the courts would set a wrong precedent by allowing the pardon appeal to sail through.