Court indicts Qavi, four others in Qandeel murder case

MULTAN: A local court here framed charges against cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi and four other suspects in a case pertaining to the murder of model Qandeel Baloch.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Sardar Iqbal Dogar read out charges against the suspects, including the cleric and two brothers of the deceased. They pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges levelled against them.

The court set May 14 for next hearing of the case when the judge would begin recording testimonies against accused Mufti Abdul Qavi, Qandeel’s brothers Muhammad Wasim and Aslam Shaheen, Abdul Basit and her cousin Haq Nawaz.

On July 15, 2016, Qandeel Baloch was murdered by her brother Waseem in Multan. The suspect stated he killed his sister as she “brought disgrace on the family”.

On Oct 18, police arrested Mufti Qavi from Punjab Highway after the court issued his arrest orders for his alleged role in the murder of Qandeel Baloch. He, however, was granted bail in November 2017 against a surety bond of Rs 200,000.

The cleric was nominated in the case on the request of the victim’s father, Muhammad Azeem.

In his earlier written statement to police, Mufti had claimed that he first met Qandeel during a TV talk show and his last meeting was held at a hotel in Karachi on 13th of Ramazan.

Mufti Abdul Qavi was suspended as the member of Ruet-e-Hilal committee after his pictures with Baloch went viral on social media.