Qandeel Baloch murder case: Mufti Qavi's judicial remand extended
November 07, 2017
MULTAN: A sessions court judge extended on Tuesday Mufti Abdul Qavi’s judicial remand by six more days during the hearing of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch’s murder case.
Qavi was presented today before the judicial magistrate, a day after his bail application was rejected.
The court has asked the police to submit a charge-sheet in the case on November 13.
Qavi, a suspect in the murder case, informed the police during his physical remand of his ties with the person who drove the murder suspects and the owner of the house where the social media star lived, Geo News reported on November 1.
According to police, Qavi told officials that the owner and driver of the vehicle which brought Qandeel's murder suspects — her brother Waseem and cousin Haq Nawaz — from DG Khan to Multan and then brought them back is his cousin Abdul Basit.
He was arrested on October 18 after his bail was rejected by the court.
Police have also conducted Qavi's polygraph test from the Punjab Science and Forensic Agency, Lahore.
Qandeel's parents blame Qavi for their daughter's murder, saying he instigated her brother to murder her.
Qandeel Baloch murder case
Baloch, who shot to fame for her provocative selfies that polarised Pakistan, was allegedly strangled on July 16, 2016 by her brother Waseem.
In his 'confession', Waseem claimed she had brought shame on the family and owned up to his crime in a press conference after his arrest the same day. Waseem, Nawaz and Basit were indicted in Dec 2016 and pleaded not guilty.
Prior to her death, Baloch, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security.
In Facebook posts, Baloch, 26, spoke of trying to change "the typical orthodox mindset" of people in Pakistan.
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf had suspended 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 faced frequent abuse and death threats but continued to post provocative pictures and videos.
The so-called 'honour-killing' had sent shockwaves across the country and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media for Baloch.
