Actor Osman Khalid Butt has filed a constitutional petition in the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the acquittal of Waseem Baloch, the brother and murderer of social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was released from prison earlier this month.
The petition challenged the Lahore High Court 's (LHC) decision on the grounds that the judgement was "sketchy, illegal" and in "contravention of the law".
Waseem Baloch had been convicted of murdering his sister Qandeel Baloch, whose social media presence had made her a feminist icon, in an 'honour killing' and was sentenced to life in prison in 2019. He was acquitted by the LHC on an appeal, having served less than six years of his life sentence. The decision granting Waseem his release drew harsh criticism.
The actor's petition stated that the LHC's judgement "allowed the perpetrators of honour killings to avoid punishment by seeking forgiveness" and "essentially endorses such barbarism".
The petition also made note of the "eternal loophole which assumedly had been rectified by the Criminal Law Amendment (Offences in the Name or Pretext of Honour) Act, 2016, stood nullified in light of the impugned Judgement, thereby enabling regressive interpretation of the law".
Earlier reports had indicated that the government, which had taken up the case of Qandeel's murder after her parents pardoned her brother, had eventually 'lost interest' in pursuing the case, which is why no effort was made to ensure that the convict completed his sentence.