The Lahore High Court’s Multan Bench has acquitted the brother of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch in a decision that will generate questions about the country abroad, giving the impression that any crime, up to and including murder, can be committed by anyone, and acquittal will ultimately be the natural end of the matter. Ms Baloch had become famous after her video with Maulana Abdul Qawi had gone viral in June 2016. She was asphyxiated the very next month by her brother who confessed to the killing because she has been bringing a bad name to the family. Initially Maulana Qawi was also on trial, but was acquitted by the trial court, as was one of her brothers. However, it convicted one of her brothers. Now he too has been acquitted on appeal.
One of the more egregious aspects of the acquittal was that he had actually confessed; his conviction being overturned because he had been forgiven by the dead woman’s heirs. The law now provides for the state to join the case as a party, in which event even if all the heirs forgive the accused, the prosecution continues. That provision was not invoked, and now cannot be, because of the ban on double jeopardy. Also, the witnesses have resiled, which makes conviction impossible even if the state was to pursue the case.
However, the acquittal means that the case is once again back in the pile of unsolved cases in the police station where the case was originally registered. The acquittal, unfortunately, was not that unusual. The only difference is that the case was a high-profile one in which there was a great deal of public interest. The acquittal shows what happens with cases that attract public attention: there is a great deal of activity while there is public interest, but with time, the murderer walks free. The story of Qandeel Baloch was actually a sad one. The pity is that she was not only murdered, but she was also denied justice. And that denial was not the result of any great pressure, nor was there any great personality who had to be protected. She just fell between the cracks.
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