A soldier of the Frontier Corps (FC) has been sentenced to death over the murder of a university student in Turbat in August last year. Turbat’s District and Sessions Judge Rafiq Langove pronounced the judgement on Wednesday after hearing the case in the presence of the accused.
Hayat Mirza Baloch, a student of Karachi University, was killed on August 13, 2020, in front of his parents while working in a date field. The FC sepoy, named Shahid Ullah, tied up the student’s hands behind his back and fired eight bullets at him, killing him instantly.
Per the record of the case, three FC soldiers were injured when an improvised explosive device went off as they carried out official patrolling duties. As a result, a search operation was launched in the area. During the search, Sepoy Shahid Ullah spotted Hayat Baloch working in his family orchard, tied him up, and killed him.
Local police registered a murder case against the soldier on the complaint of Mohammad Murad Baloch, the brother of the deceased.
On Friday, officials of the FC South handed over soldier Shahid Ullah to the Turbat police after conducting an internal inquiry into the killing of the student. The parents of Hayat Baloch recognised the accused during the identification paradem while the accused also confessed to his crime in his statement recorded under Section 64 by a magistrate.
According to his brother, Hayat Mirza Baloch was a final year student at Karachi University and planned to appear for the Central Superior Service (CSS) exams. His extra-judicial murder was condemned by activists across the country, with Pakistanis raising “Justice for Hayat Baloch” slogans on various platforms.
