Qandeel Baloch murder: Mufti Qavi arrested while ‘escaping’ to Jhang

Multan court issues non-bailable warrant after rejecting extension in pre-arrest bail

MULTAN: Former member of the moon-sighting committee Mufti Abdul Qavi was on Wednesday arrested after a court rejected extension in his pre-arrest bail in a case related to murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch.

The self-proclaimed actress and model Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her own brother Waseem and a cousin in the name of honour in July last year. Waseem had later confessed to his crime before the police and the media.



The police had included Qavi's name as a suspect in the case at the request of Qandeel’s father, Muhammad Azeem, who in a statement before the police suspected the cleric's possible role in the murder that took place weeks after Qandeel posted her selfies and videos with Qavi on social media.

Last week, a judicial magistrate, Pervaiz Khan, had also issued non-bailable warrant for the arrest of Mufti Qavi after the investigation officer informed the court that the cleric was not cooperating with the police.

However, soon after the issuance of the warrant, the counsel for Qavi had filed a pre-arrest bail application before District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Ameer Khan, who had granted him bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000.

But on Wednesday, the judge rejected Qavi’s request for extension in his pre-arrest bail after lawyers, representing both the parties, presented their case.

During the hearing, the judge remarked that proceedings against Qavi would be carried out under Section 302 and 109 (abetment) of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). According to the police, Qavi faces charges of inciting Qandeel's brother to murder her.



Interestingly, Qavi was present in the court earlier but managed to flee the premises before announcement of the order. According to the police, Qavi was later tracked through his mobile phone while he was ‘escaping’ to Jhang and taken into custody on Multan-Jhang highway.

Later, Multan’s city police officer (CPO) also suspended Sub-Inspector Noor Akbar of Muzzafarabad police station on charges of assisting Qavi in his ‘escape’ and defective investigation into the murder. The CPO also ordered registration of an FIR against Akbar as well as his arrest.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Qavi’s lawyer Rana Mehboob Alam, said his client was not escaping but going to Jhang to attend a funeral. He said they would move the Lahore High Court Multan bench for his bail.