Samiya Hijab, Hassan Zahid strike ‘out-of-court settlement'

Social media influencer Samiya Hijab and Hassan Zahid, who is the suspect in her abduction case, have reached an out-of-court settlement, sources said on Saturday.

Complainant Hijab did not appear at today’s hearing, while Zahid’s lawyers withdrew bail pleas from the magistrate court, citing jurisdiction and submitted new ones in the district and sessions court in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Additional Sessions Judge Amir Zia issued notices to both parties and adjourned the case until September 15.

A day earlier, the local court in the federal capital sent Zahid to jail on judicial remand in the Hijab abduction case.

Zahid was produced before Judicial Magistrate Yasir Mahmood, where police sought a five-day physical remand for further investigation.

However, the court dismissed the police request and sent the suspect to jail on judicial remand.

The Islamabad-based social media influencer had alleged that Zahid — with whom she had been in a relationship — had been harassing her for months with threats and demands to marry him.

In a video posted on Instagram, where she has a following of nearly 850,000, she claimed he appeared outside her residence, grabbed her phone, and tried to force her into his car.

“My mother was ill, my brother wasn’t home. When I stepped outside, he snatched my mobile, sat in his car, and forced me in as well,” Samiya, who is also a popular face on TikTok, said.

Hijab appealed to Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi for protection, while praising the police for registering her complaint and moving quickly.