MULTAN – Renowned cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi was granted bail in the Qandeel Baloch murder case by a district and sessions court, a month after he was arrested.
The bail was granted against a surety bond worth Rs200,000 and Mufti Qavi is expected to be released in the evening today (Tuesday).
During today’s hearing, the suspect’s lawyer argued that an accused, Aslam Shaheen, has been granted bail but Qavi, who is suspected of inciting Qandeel’s brother is being denied bail.
He contended that a polygraph test had no legal value either and a ‘mysterious’ call from Saudi Arabia was not substantial enough to deny bail to Qavi.
Qavi has already spent around two weeks in police custody following which he was sent to jail on judicial remand. His health also deteriorated during the detention.
On Monday, Qavi’s bail hearing had been delayed due to the non-availability of a judge.
Qandeel Baloch’s Murder
Qandeel Baloch became a social media star in Pakistan after her risque posts on social media garnered attention.
The celebrity, hailing from Multan, uploaded pictures alongside Mufti Abdul Qavi as she met him at a hotel.
Qavi was lampooned after the pictures stormed the internet but a few days later Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death by her brother for ‘honour’.
Mufti Abdul Qavi denied any sort of involvement in the murder, however, the cleric is under the radar of police ever since Baloch’s murder.
In July, the Multan-based scholar had alleged that a lawyer was dragging him into the case but claimed that “lawyers and the laws in Pakistan, all were with him.”
“My name is not in the FIR registered for Qandeel’s murder, but I will present myself to the police whenever they call me for more information,” he had said.
