A Pakistani man from Lahore was acquitted despite "honour" killing his daughter after he pardoned himself. Pakistan was recently in the news after the honour killing of a model, Qandeel Baloch.
Pakistan had recently adopted an anti-honour killing law that necessitates that those who commit the crime are given life imprisonment. However, the law is considered compoundable in the country and the complainant and perpetrator can come to an understanding.
In this particular case, the man and his wife were heir to their unmarried daughter, who he had murdered along with her lover. Hence, taking advantage of the gaps in the law, the man pardoned himself and his son and nephew, who helped him commit the crime, and went scot-free for a double murder, reported the Express Tribune.
"The deceased, Kiran Bibi, was my real daughter. She was unmarried at the time of her murder. There are no other legal heirs of the deceased except her mother, Bushra Bibi, and me. I have forgiven the accused persons in the name of Almighty Allah, and have no objection to their acquittal. I also waive my right of Qisas (retribution) and Diyat (blood money)," said the accused, Faqeer Muhammad, in the court.
Faqeer had murdered his daughter and her alleged lover, Ghulam Abbas. Abbas's mother had filed a case against Faqeer and the others. Later, she moved the court to make the case compoundable under Section 345 of CrPC.
Abbas's mother and brother pardoned the trio and waived their right to Qisas and Diyat as well.
Even though the prosecution moved the court saying it had evidence against the trio, the court said that "there is no chance of conviction at all, so the accused persons are acquitted."
A lawyer said that the Anti-Honour Killing Laws (Criminal Amendment Bill) 2015, which was recently passed in the Pakistan Parliament, was not applicable retrospectively.
In another case of honour killing in Pakistan, a celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her brother to save the "honour" of the family.
