Qandeel Baloch murder case: Parents’ request to pardon killers rejected

MULTAN (92 News) – A trial court in Multan on Thursday rejected a request by the parents of slain social media star Qandeel Baloch to pardon her brothers, who are accused of killing her. The judge asked them whether they were only pardoning their sons and not all the accused in the murder case, to which the parents responded in affirmative. Judge informed them that he would decide their request after examining whether law grants them the right to pardon the killers or not. The court later dismissed Baloch’s parents’ application to pardon their sons, with the judge saying the case regarding murder in the name of 'honour' would be decided once the testimonies of all witnesses have been recorded. On Wednesday, the Qandeel Baloch murder case took a new turn when the model girl’s parents announced a pardon for their sons and submitted an affidavit to court for their acquittal. The model court judge summoned the prosecution and the lawyers on the next date of hearing. In the affidavit, the parents said they had pardoned their sons Waseem and Aslam in the name of Allah Almighty and court should also acquit them. Her father Muhammad Azeem Baloch, in the affidavit, stated that the story concocted on the basis of murder for honour is against the facts. He had registered the case against his son Muhammad Waseem, his friends Haq Nawaz and Muhammad Zafar and driver Abdul Basit. In 2016, Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death at her home by her brother Waseem.