Pashto Singer Ghazala Javed’s Ex-Husband Sentenced to Death for Her Murder · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

The ex-husband of Pashto singer and anti-Taliban activist Ghazala Javed has been sentenced to death by a court in Pakistan's northwestern Swat district, for murdering the singer and her father in 2012.
During her lifetime, Ghazala Javed bravely defied Taliban pressure to stop singing and spoke up against creeping Talibanization in her hometown Swat. The Taliban were briefly in control of Swat and were cleared from the area after a massive military operation by the Pakistan army in 2009.
Ghazala Javed (1988-2012). Image courtesy Wikipedia
Ghazala's ex-husband Jehangir Khan was awarded a double death sentence along with a Rs 70 million (0.7 million USD) fine. He has announced plans to appeal the decision.
A number of Pakistanis reacted to the court's decision and remembered the enigmatic singer on Twitter.
Following the news of the sentence, SAbaseen expresses relief:
So good to know that our dearest late #GhazalaJaved is finally recieving justice — a little late…but better late than never, eh.
— SAbaseen (@SesapZai) December 16, 2013
Ghazala was an ethnic-Pashtun and sang in Pakistan's north-western region's language Pashto. One of her fans, a Pashtun Twitter user Schazad Bangash, praised the sentence:
I wud really want to see this guy hung in bloody intersection for killing #GhazalaJaved. Good decision. http://t.co/fZd1eaZufp
— Schazad Bangash (@schazad) December 16, 2013
Commenting on the judgement another Pashtun Twitter user Nazrana Yousufzai said:
#RIP GhazalaJaved- Your murderer has given what he deserved – http://t.co/nmGtukImUj
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) December 16, 2013
Expressing his disbelief on the legal and judicial system, Royal Pashtoon responded:
@NazranaYusufzai You know this sentence will be reduced to 6 years till the proceudre of Supreme Court.
— Royal Pashtoon (@samzmer) December 16, 2013
Journalist Javed Aziz Khan posts a portrait of the singer:
Singer #GhazalaJaved ,killed in #Peshawar in 2012. Court awarded death sentence to her ex-spouse in her murder case pic.twitter.com/pKoCTsQgtq
— The Commoner (@JavedAzizKhan) December 16, 2013
Ghazala's Pashto songs were also popular in Afghanistan. Pashto is one of Afghanistan's official languages.  Hyprgee posted a clip from Ghazala's last concert in Kabul:
Ghazala javed Last Concert Pashto song 2013 in kabal Part 5 YouTube: http://t.co/YrFMCSVMF1 via @YouTube
— Hyprgee (@hyprgee) December 18, 2013