Court awards death sentence to FC soldier

A local court in Balochistan has sentenced a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier to death for killing a student. Hayat Baloch was shot dead by FC sepoy Shadiullah on August 13, 2020 after a bomb blast in the area in front of his parents.

Hayat was a BS Physiology student at University of Karachi and was shaking hands with his parents in a palm grove at Absar area of Turbat in Balochistan's Kech district when the incident occurred.

Turbat District and Sessions Judge Rafiq Langau on Wednesday decided the case in the presence of Shadiullah and Hayat's brother Murad Baloch, said Jarin Dashti Advocate, the counsel representing Hayat Baloch's family.

The court sentenced the accused to death after convicting him under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).  The parents of the slain student had testified in court, identifying the accused during the identification parade. The accused had also confessed to the crime before a magistrate.

The FC inspector general had visited Hayat Baloch's house after the tragic incident that sparked widespread outrage and had assured the family of justice.