Court to indict Mufti Qavi, other suspects in Qandeel Baloch murder case on 21st

MULTAN: The district and sessions court hearing the Qandeel Baloch murder case directed authorities to provide copies of the charge-sheet to Mufti Abdul Qavi and other suspects so that they could be indicted on March 21.

During the hearing, the primary accused and Qandeel Baloch’s brother Waseem and relative Haq Nawaz, appeared in court along with the other accused: Mufti Abdul Qavi, Aslam Shahid and Abdul Basit.

Waseem and Nawaz were indicted in the case in December 2016.

The judge directed that the remaining accused be provided copies of the charge-sheet so they could be indicted on March 21.

Moreover, the judge separated today the case of Baloch’s other brother, Arif, after declaring him an absconder for being a no-show in the proceedings.

Model Qandeel Baloch, who rose to fame for her provocative selfies that polarised Pakistan, was strangled in July by her brother Muhammad Waseem for “bringing shame on the family”. He had confessed to his crime in a press conference after his arrest.

Prior to her death, Baloch, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, was concerned about her safety and had appealed to the Interior Ministry to provide her with security.

No security was provided and the Interior Ministry has not commented on her death.

In his confession, Waseem claimed she had brought shame on the family and confessed to his crime in a press conference after his arrest. Later, a polygraph revealed that Waseem had help from his cousin Haq Nawaz and few others.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf suspended Mufti Qavi’s membership of Ruet-e-Hilal Committee after Baloch released pictures of herself with the cleric in a hotel room weeks before her murder, wearing his hat and pouting.

She had accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

“I thought I would expose him as he is in reality,” she told AFP at the time, adding: “He is a different person alone and different when he has his followers around him.”

She had faced frequent abuse and death threats.

The ‘honour-killing’ of Qandeel Baloch had sent shockwaves across the country and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media.