Pakistani actor Osman Khalid Butt has moved Supreme Court after the brother of slain social media star Qandeel Baloch was acquitted of her murder. The Chupke Chupke actor challenged the acquittal of Waseem Azeem in the country’s top court, human rights activist and Barrister Khadija Siddiqi revealed on social media as she called it a ‘test case’. Siddiqui moved the petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and prayed the apex court to set aside the Lahore High Court’s judgement that acquitted Muhammad Waseem of Baloch’s murder and restore the trial court’s verdict that declared him a convict.
Waseem, the brother of the slain model was first arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for strangling the social media star in 2016. The culprit had then boldly declared to the press that he had no remorse for killing his sister.
Qandeels’ father then lodged a murder case against his son and his accomplices. The man also admitted to slaying his sister and getting drugs. During the recent hearing, an appeal judge remarked that Baloch´s murder could not be defined as a ‘crime of honour’, dismissing the confession of the prime accused. Waseem earlier appealed his conviction of murder and the death penalty as the witnesses had already retracted their statements, while his mother had also pardoned him.
The social media erupted over this acquittal and celebrities and personalities from all walks of life took to social media to express their anger over the decision. Osman Khalid Butt expressed his deep disappointment. “Qandeel’s murderer walks free today after serving less than six years of his life sentence. He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone, please make this make sense to me,” he said while venting anger in a social media post. “So..despite claiming he murdered Qandeel because of her pictures and videos, the hon. judge doesn’t believe it was a case of honor killing? His confession declared inadmissible because of technicalities? What precedent are we setting here?”, he tweeted.
