SC upholds woman's right to khula
Upholds death sentence of man who killed former wife 48 hours after khula decree
The Supreme Court has ruled that violence against a woman for exercising her right to khula is an affront to the Constitution, vowing to punish those who resort to violence against women seeking dissolution of marriage. In a 4-page judgment, Justice MuhammadHashim Khan Kakar dismissed the jail petition of convicted murderer Waseem Abbas, upholding his death sentence for killing his former wife, Shehnaz Bibi.
The Court declared that a woman's right to seek khula is a constitutional right, protected under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution. It condemned the killing of a woman for seeking a lawful right as an act of defiance and brutality, and noted that no concession would be given to a convict involved in such a cold-blooded murder.
Shehnaz Bibi had obtained a legal decree of khula from a Family Court, but just 48 hours later, Waseem Abbas entered her home with a weapon and opened fire, killing her on October 11, 2020. The Court found evidence linking the spent bullet casings to the murder weapon and dismissed the convict's jail petition, leaving his death sentence in effect.
Written by urgent.news from The Express Tribune - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
