CJP withdraws Asma Rani’s murder suo motu

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday withdrew the suo motu notice that was taken over the murder of Kohat’s medical student Asma Rani.

During the hearing that was conducted by a CJP led three-member bench, the advocate general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told the Supreme Court (SC) that he had submitted a charge-sheet of the case to the trial court.

To this, CJP remarked that now that the accused has been arrested, the law would handle the case on its own. The case was wrapped up a few days earlier but Rani’s family claims that said the accused’s family were pressurising them into entering an agreement.

On March 21, a local court had sent the prime suspect in the Asma Rani murder case, Mujahidullah Afridi, to jail on 14-days judicial remand.

In his statement, during the hearing, Afridi maintained that he did not murder the medical student.

Earlier, Mujahid Afridi was taken into custody on March 10, from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, by a special team of the Kohat police.

A team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was also present at the airport at the time of the detainment.

Afridi was extradited to Pakistan following his arrest by the Interpol in Sharjah. He is said to be the son of a nephew of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) district leader in Kohat.

Mujahid was arrested in Sharjah by the authorities concerned on the request of KP police. The accused, who was already married and had a business in the UAE, managed to escape to Saudi Arabia on the day of the incident from the Islamabad airport using an Umrah visa.

Allegedly, he targeted Asma Rani after she rejected his marriage proposal.

Asma was a medical student studying in Abbottabad. The tragic incident took place while she was visiting her home in Kohat. In her dying declaration, she had accused Afridi and his brother of attacking her.