Court reserves verdict on Qandeel Baloch murder case

Published September 26, 2019
A model court in Multan on Thursday reserved its verdict on the murder case of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.
 — Facebook/File
A model court in Multan on Thursday reserved its verdict on the murder case of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch. — Facebook/File

A model court in Multan on Thursday reserved its verdict on the murder case of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.

Judge Imran Shafi reserved the verdict after the prosecution and defence completed their arguments in the case.

Suspects including Qandeel's brother, the main accused, Muhammad Wasim, her other brother Aslam Shaheen, Mufti Abdul Qavi, Haq Nawaz and Abdul Basit were present in court during the proceedings.

Qandeel's mother was also in the courtroom.

In the case, 35 witnesses recorded their statements. The verdict is likely to be announced tomorrow.

Speaking to media outside the court, Mufti Qavi, whom the victim’s parents had held responsible for their daughter’s killing, said that purposely he was being included in the case and tomorrow once the verdict is announced, suspects will be made convicts and the innocent will be acquitted. He said that his name had not been included in the First Information Report.

Baloch's brother Waseem had strangled her to death in the name of "honour" at their house in 2016. He later confessed to have killed her because she allegedly “brought dishonour to the Baloch name” with her risque videos and statements posted on social media. Her brother Shaheen was also nominated in the case.

In August, Qandeel's parents had submitted an affidavit in court, saying they had forgiven the killers and the case against their sons should be thrown out. Following this, a trial court rejected the request.

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