Kandel Baloch's parents reject request to forgive sons

Kandel Baloch's parents reject request to forgive sons

Kandel Baloch's parents reject request to forgive sons: A model court in the southern city of Multan, Punjab, has rejected a request to pardon the victim's two brothers in the murder case of model and actress Kandel Baloch.

The petition was filed by the victim's father and the defendant of the case, Muhammad Azim.

The court says that in cases of honor killings, the process of reconciliation or pardon by the plaintiff cannot be accepted.

A model court in the southern city of Multan, Punjab, has rejected a request to pardon the victim's two brothers in the murder case of model and actress Kandel Baloch.

The petition was filed by the victim's father and the defendant of the case, Muhammad Azim.

The court says that in cases of honor killings, the process of reconciliation or pardon by the plaintiff cannot be accepted.

Judge Imran Shafi, hearing the murder case of Qandeel Baloch, questioned the deceased's father and the defendant of the case, Muhammad Azim, that they had submitted an affidavit in the court in which they told their two sons to please Allah. Sorry, what will be the effect on this case.

In reply, Muhammad Azim told the court that he did not know much about the law but he forgave his sons Muhammad Wasim and Shaheen Aslam.

The court inquired from the plaintiff whether he had pardoned the other persons arrested in the case, to which Kandel Baloch's father, Muhammad Azim, said, "No, I have only forgiven my sons, the rest of the accused." The future will be decided by the court itself.

It should be noted that when Qandeel Baloch was assassinated three years ago, the victim's father and the defendant of the case, Muhammad Azim, had said in two words that he would not be able to forgive the accused completely.

Mufti Abdul Qawi, Wasim, and Abdul Basit, Zafar Iqbal, Aslam Shaheen, and Haq Nawaz have been named accused in the murder case of Qandil Baloch and the accused have also been charged.

Mohammad Wasim and Aslam Shaheen are the brothers of the deceased, while Haqqani is a close relative of the accused. Mohammad Wasim and Haq Nawaz are the main accused in the case.

Another accused in the case, Mohammed Arif, is an Adhikari, which local police say is also the victim's brother.

The case of Kandel Baloch has been moved from the Multan District and Sessions Judge's Court to the Model Court so that the case can be decided soon.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa has set up Model Courts across the country to reach the logical end to hearing the murder cases that are pending from the custodians on a daily basis.

The Chief Justice says that the adjournment in the murder case can be found only if the judge dies or the prosecutor pursuing the case.

Counsel for the accused in the case of Kandel Baloch also confirmed the affidavit of the defendant and said that the law on honor killings has been amended after the murder of Kandel Baloch.

He said that the case of Kandel Baloch's murder was registered on July 16, 2016, while the law of honor was amended on October 22, 2016, so new legislation does not apply to this case.

Earlier, the public prosecutor had submitted written arguments to the relevant court stating that after the amendment of Article 311 of Pakistan, the plaintiff could no longer pardon the accused even if the case was amended.

At a time when the case is nearing its logical end, the coming of such a petition shows maliciousness, the government lawyer said.

He appealed to the court to dismiss the request to pardon only the two accused. The court has summoned more witnesses in the August 24 murder case.

The parents filed an application to forgive the sons

His parents have once again submitted an affidavit to their two brothers arrested in connection with the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch in the Pakistani city of Multan.

The affidavit states that as the plaintiff, he has pardoned his two brothers Waseem and Aslam Shaheen, named in the murder of Kandel Baloch. At the same time, it has been requested that the court allow a settlement between Kandel's parents and the two accused brothers.

However, the prosecutor pursuing the case on behalf of the state has opposed such approval in its statement submitted to the Multan Model Court.

What is the position of Kandel's parents?

A member of the prosecution team told the BBC that the affidavit submitted by Kandel Baloch's parents held that the case of Kandel Baloch's murder was registered on July 16, 2016, while honoring. An amendment to the law regarding murder in the name of 'came into force on October 22, 2016.'

Therefore, the amendment of honor killing law section 311 does not apply to the murder of Kandel, so according to Section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the two brothers were released after their parents were exempted. To be given. '

Prosecution's stand

According to the prosecution member, the position he has taken in his response in the court states that the amendment to the Criminal Law Act in respect of honor killings was passed in 2005.

He said that according to this amendment act, "a case of honor killings cannot be agreed, especially if the defendant and the accused are the legal heirs of the deceased."

However, it is at the judge's discretion in this law to determine whether the murder is classified as an honor killing.

The prosecutor added in his dissenting statement submitted to the court that "Apart from the evidence of the occasion and the statements of the 19 witnesses, there are confessional statements of the two accused, which confirms that they have named Kandel Baloch in honor. Killed. '

The prosecution also held in the court that Kandel Baloch's parents, who were the legal heirs, had filed an affidavit once to settle the accused.

Subsequently, he was also charged with defamation and defamation against the accused.

Modification of honor killing law

It should be remembered that in 2016, Pakistan's parliament passed an amendment to the honor killings law following a campaign launched in response to the assassination of Kandel Baloch, according to which the deceased's relatives were pardoned. Nevertheless, the murderer will be sentenced to life imprisonment or 25 years of imprisonment.

Earlier, in most cases of honor killings in Pakistan, it was observed that the accused murderers had parents or siblings who forgave them, after which the case ended.

After the assassination of Kandil Baloch, it was brought under discussion in political and social circles and the incident also appeared in the international media and the rise of honor killings in Pakistan was attributed to the lack of proper legislation in this regard. went.

The assassination of Qandeel Baloch

On July 15, 2016, Kandil Baloch was killed in a fountain. Police investigations revealed that he was strangled to death.

Kandel's brother Waseem initially confessed after the arrest that he had committed the crime and said the reason was that "Kandel was causing disgrace to the Baloch family" but later when he was formally charged. When done, they denied it.

The accused in the Qandil Baloch murder case

His brother Mohammed Wasim is the main accused in the murder case of Kandel Baloch, while the plaintiff later registered another son Aslam Shaheen in the murder case who according to local police is employed in the army.

Mohammed Waseem, Abdul Basit, Zafar Iqbal, Aslam Shaheen, and Haq Nawaz were arrested along with Mufti Qawi, a religious scholar and former member of the Ulema Wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in the case of Kandel Baloch, but Mufti Qawwi and Mohammad Waseem were released on bail. The remaining accused are currently in jail.