HAROON JANJUA FROM THE GUARDIAN
Dawlat Khan had received a life sentence for the rape of a young deaf woman but a council of elders intervened to offer a compromise
A court in Pakistan has caused outrage after it freed a convicted rapist when he agreed to marry his victim.
Dawlat Khan, 25, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in May by the district court of Buner, in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for the rape of a young deaf woman.
After an intervention by the area jirga, or council of elders, a deal was struck between Khan and the family of the woman, who had a child as a result of the attack. Khan was released on Monday after the deal was accepted by the Peshawar high court.
“The parties have patched up the matter by the intervention of the relative and elder of the family members, which is in the best interest of the parties. The compromise was affected in the best interest of the child and his mother being a special person,” read the court document.