The acquittal of Muhamamd Waseem, the brother and murderer of social media star Qandeel Baloch, by the Lahore High Court has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Lawyer Khadija Siddiqi, who filed the appeal today (Monday) on behalf of actor Osman Khalid Butt, shared the development in a Twitter post.
The case was filed in Islamabad under Article 184(3), under the original jurisdiction Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court acquitted Waseem on February 15, causing outrage on social media.
Waseem who was accused of strangling Qandeel in a case of "honour killing" was awarded life imprisonment by a sessions court in Multan in 2019. The verdict was however, overruled and the accused was set free after witnesses deviated from their statements in the trial court and Qandeel’s mother submitted an agreement of parental pardon.
Butt had also taken to Twitter to express his disbelief over the decision. “He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone please make this make sense to me," he tweeted.
The verdict left many social media users questioning the country’s judicial system.
Some had predicted that he wouldn’t remain behind bars for long.
Qandeel was a model who rose to fame through social media. She posted videos and pictures of herself on Facebook and spoke up against the “orthodox mindset” of the people of Pakistan. Her content was considered provocative because of which she received thousands of death threats and abuse.
Waseen confessed to killing her over her social media activities in a press conference in 2016 after his arrest. Qandeel’s murder came as a shock to Pakistanis and it triggered yet another countrywide campaign against so-called honour killings.