Prosecutors in Pakistan said on March 20 that they have appealed to the country’s top court after a man was acquitted of murdering his celebrity sister in one of the most high-profile “honor killing” cases in the country in recent years.
Muhammad Waseem
Controversial social media star Qandeel Baloch -- who was dubbed the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan -- was strangled to death by her brother, Muhammad Waseem, in 2016.
Waseem had publicly said he had no remorse for the killing his 26-year-old sister over her “intolerable” behavior, after she posted racy pictures of herself with a Muslim cleric.
Waseem, 38, was sentenced to life in prison. But in February -- after spending six years in prison -- he was freed on a legal technicality that allows a victim's mother to pardon the crime.
A lawyer for Waseem’s mother said she had given "her consent" to pardon him.
"We have challenged his acquittal, which was granted to him on mere assumptions and technical grounds," state prosecutor Khurram Khan told the AFP news agency on March 20.
Khans said that the appeal was filed on March 18.
Hundreds of women in Pakistan are killed each year by male relatives in so-called honor killings for violating conservative norms and allegedly bringing shame to the reputation of their families.
Pakistani lawmaker Maleeka Bokhari said the Supreme Court has an opportunity to set an important precedent when the case reaches its doors.