Pakistani man forced to marry his raped victim to get freedom

A Pakistani rapist has been released by the court after he agreed to marry the woman he raped under arrangements facilitated by a senior family board in the country’s Northwest.

It was reported that 25-year-old Dawlat Khan was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for raping a deaf woman. However, he was released after the Peshawar High Court upheld an out-of-court settlement agreed by the victim’s family.

The suspect was arrested after the unmarried woman became pregnant and a paternity test showed she was the father of the unborn child. However the victim’s family forced Khan to marry her after he was released from jail.