The Qandeel case

The case of Qandeel Baloch the social media star who was strangled to death in Multan in July 2016 has come to an end – at least for now. A Multan model court on Friday sentenced Qandeel’s brother to life in prison in her murder case. He had admitted to the murder stating that his sister had “brought dishonor” to the family name with her risqué videos and statements posted on social media. The court acquitted the other six suspects in the case including Mufti Abdul Qavi and another of Qandeel’s brothers. After the verdict, Mufti Qavi’s supporters greeted him with garlands outside the courtroom. The other suspects and Qandeel’s parents went away quietly without any ceremony. The elderly parents who had been supported by their daughter are once again living in a state of poverty and life has gone back to where it was before Qandeel embarked on her social media career.

Earlier Qandeel’s father had filed a petition seeking pardon for his sons, but this was turned down by the court, which said that in the case of honour killings parents feel pressurized to forgive one of their children for killing another and that this should not be used as a means to protect them from murder charges. A trial court had also rejected the request by the parents seeking forgiveness for both their sons but not for other suspects in the murder. The interpretation of the honour killing law by the model court is important. In the past many killers have escaped using the law which worked most effectively either within families when no money actually exchanges hands or in cases where a wealthier person has killed someone of lesser means. According to some reports, there is still controversy over some aspects of Qandeel Baloch’s case. Whether these will ever surface we do not know.

Reaction to the verdict has been mixed, with some questioning Mufti Qavi’s acquittal and asking how long it will take to change the country and allow people like Qandeel to live on their own terms. Perhaps the biggest victim of the affair are Qandeel’s parents, deprived now of both a son and a daughter and left to live life as best they can in rural Pakistan after the few months of relative comfort their daughter, Fouzia Azeem who adopted the name Qandeel Baloch, was able to offer them. Her fame may live long after her.