Taser Subhani Dawn
Qandeel Baloch was killed on the behest of Mufti Qavi, her father Muhammad Azeem told a court hearing the social media celebrity’s murder case in Multan on Monday.
Qandeel had been murdered last year, allegedly by her brother Muhammad Waseem, who said he killed her in the name of ‘honour.’
Her parents, Azeem and Anwar Bibi, were present in the court of Judicial Magistrate Pervaiz Khan today, along with Mufti Qavi, who is currently in police custody after his pre-arrest bail was rejected by a court earlier in October.
Azeem told the magistrate that he would not forgive anyone who was involved in his daughter’s murder.
He also maintained that the person responsible for his daughter’s murder was Mutfi Qavi.
The cleric, however, maintained his innocence before the court and said he had done nothing illegal, adding that whatever had happened was on the record.
Investigating Officer Asif Shahzad asked the court for a three-day extension in the cleric’s physical remand, saying that police was likely to get the results of a polygraph test conducted on Mutfi Qavi soon, on the basis of which they would be investigating further.
Three lawyers representing Mufti Qavi told the court that police were unable to gain anything despite an 11-day remand of the cleric and requested the court that no further extension in remand be granted to police.
His lawyers maintained that the polygraph test had no legal standing.
The court extended the cleric’s physical remand for two more days, and adjourned the hearing until Nov 1.
Qandeel’s murder
Model and actress Qandeel Baloch ─ born Fouzia Azeem ─ was found strangled to death in her house in Multan’s Karimabad area on July 16, 2016. Her father claimed that she was killed by her younger brother, Waseem, in the name of honour.
Her brother Waseem was arrested by police in Dera Ghazi Khan later that night and confessed to killing her in the name of ‘honour’.
Accompanied by police at a press conference, Waseem alleged to have drugged and strangled her, saying that she “brought dishonour to the Baloch name” due to her risque videos and statements posted on social media.
“There are other issues as well… Like the maulvi issue,” he said, in an apparent reference to a controversy in the weeks leading up to her death after Qandeel took selfies with Mufti Qavi.
Qavi’s selfies had gone viral on social media, causing a nationwide furore, after which the cleric’s membership of the Ruet-i-Hilal committee and the National Ulema Mushaikh Council had been suspended.
