The investigation into the murder of Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch has taken a new turn as state has become a complainant, stripping the family of victim of the right to pardon the killer brother.
The police report of the murder now includes Section 311 of Pakistan Penal Code, ensuring the killer or killers of the model cannot escape punishment under any circumstance.
Qandeel Baloch who was born as Fauzia Azeem in Central Pakistan town of Dera Ghazi Khan in 1990 was killed in an honor killing case by her real brother Azeem.
However the statement of her father betrays some other things. According to him, Qandeel had been helping family financially including Azeem, who confessed to killing his sister during police probe.
According to a version, Azeem was not happy with Qandeel who was not providing him enough money. Such accounts speculate that Azeem took refuge behind the pretext of honor killing had stated before the police that an objectionable selfie with the cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi had instigated him to kill Qanfeel Baloch.
The cleric lost his job of member Ruet e Hilal Committee after the videos and pictures with Qandeel became viral on social media websites. Police has now decided to investigate Mufti Abdul Qavi and every and anyone who seems to be linked to this murder case.
Since coldblooded murder of the model, Pakistan human rights activists and women right groups have been protesting another incident of honor killing, which claims a number of lives every year.
In capital Islamabad, protesters gathered in front of the National Press Club to register their anger and affirm calls for introduction of stricter laws to discourage honor killings. The protest was organized by the Awami Workers Party included members of the Women’s Action Forum, the Feminist Collective, and Insaani Huqooq Ittehad.
They demanded justice, and said the government must ensure that perpetrators of violence and death against women do not escape justice on the pretext of waivers, given by the wali (guardian) of the victim.
The protestors pointed out that Qandeel Baloch was strangled because she refused to live the life her brother wanted her to live. When her family forced her to marry a man she did not want to live with, she ran away with her son to find sanctuary at Darul Aman.
Here, she was forced to give up her only son, and found herself alone in a society that has no place for fierce and independent women. In a hostile world, she put herself through school and worked day and night as a bus hostess before joining an entertainment industry. With the money she pieced together she continued to support the family that had pushed her out, paying for her sister’s wedding and her parents’ home.
Meanwhile, murder of the model has also provoked discussions on a host of issues including the role of mass media in creating a situation that ultimately led to the killing of the model.
This is the second time after the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer a few years ago that media has face a lot of questions and criticism from ethics watch groups who believe that race for ratings sometimes results in dangerous unintended consequences.
