QUETTA/ISLAMABAD: The father of Hayat Baloch, a student of the Karachi University who was allegedly killed by a soldier of Frontier Corps (FC), recognised the suspect during an identification parade in Turbat district jail on Wednesday.

The father of the victim had earlier said he could recognise the FC man if brought in front of him. Hayat was taken to a date orchard after a blast in the Absar area of Turbat in Balochistan and shot eight times by the FC soldier.

Suspect Shadiullah is already in police custody and a murder case has been registered against him on the complaint of the victim’s elder brother, Muhammad Murad Baloch.

Kech district police officer Najeebullah Pandrani said the identification parade was held in the jail under the supervision of a judicial magistrate. Other prisoners were also brought along with the suspect, he added.

FC says its soldier demonstrating irresponsible attitude opened fire on KU student

“The father of Hayat Baloch identified the suspect three times during the identification parade,” DPO Pandrani said, adding that the FC had already handed over Shadiullah to police after completing their internal investigation.

Meanwhile, the FC Balo­chistan issued a statement on the incident. It said that on Aug 13 a tragic incident took place in Turbat in which terrorists targeted an FC convoy with an IED (improvised explosive device) in the Absar area, resulting in injuries to three personnel, including a non-commissioned officer.

After the incident, the statement said, some local people, including Hayat Baloch, who were present in the area, were being interrogated about the incident. During the interrogation, FC soldier Naik Shadiullah demonstrating irresponsible attitude opened fire, resulting in injuries to Hayat Baloch, who succumbed to his wounds on the spot.

The FC personnel present on the occasion overpowered the suspect and disarmed him immediately, it added.

The statement said that after the incident and initial internal inquiry the FC South inspector general ordered handing over of the suspect to police. The FC handed over the suspect to police within two hours, before his nomination in the incident. The notables of the area had welcomed the FC gesture, it added.

The statement said that although it was a crime committed by an individual, the FC Balochistan as an institution had deplored the tragic incident and strongly condemned the IED blast by terrorists and express solidarity with victims.

“We had taken responsibility to protect the lives, properties and honour of our citizens … and FC Balochistan would continue performing its duties without any discrimination. The culprits behind the IED blast and the killer of Hayat Baloch would surely face the consequences of their crimes; such incidents would not be allowed to happen in future,” the FC statement added.

Meanwhile, FC South Inspector General Maj Gen Sarfaraz Ali visited the house of Hayat Baloch in Turbat on Wednesday and condoled with his father and other members of the family and offered Fateha for the departed soul.

He expressed sympathies with the family and said that as an institution the FC was standing by the grieved family and assured that justice would be done with them.

PBC condemns murder

Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Abid Saqi on Wednesday condemned the gruesome murder of Hayat Baloch. “It is the height of lawlessness that a soldier of a state institution committed the heinous crime in presence of several witnesses, including family members of the victim, and then remained at large for a couple of days before his belated arrest,” Mr Saqi said in a statement issued in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2020