RAWALPINDI:
Additional District and Sessions Judge Farhat Jabeen Rana has rejected the bail pleas of two accused in the Sidra Bibi “honour killing” case while granting interim bail to three fugitives who surrendered before the court.
The judge has summoned all 18 accused in the case on October 7 for indictment, signalling the beginning of formal trial proceedings.
The case revolves around the brutal murder of 17-year-old Sidra Bibi, who was allegedly killed in the name of honour by her close family members on July 21, 2025.
She was strangled after contracting a second marriage of her own choice, following her divorce from her first husband.
Her body was stuffed into plastic bags and secretly buried in the Pirwadhai graveyard.
The crime was uncovered when the police exhumed the body after receiving information about the killing.
On Friday, the court heard bail pleas from two cemetery employees – Pirwadhai graveyard secretary Saifur Rehman and gravedigger Rashid Mahmood.
Their counsel, Advocate Jawad Khalid, argued that both men were simple employees of the graveyard and had no role in the murder.
However, District Prosecutor Malik Imran Raheem strongly opposed the plea, contending that the two were active participants in the concealment of the crime.
He said they had full knowledge of the murder, tampered with cemetery records, and deliberately hid evidence.
The prosecutor maintained that their silence and manipulation made them complicit.
After hearing the arguments, the court dismissed their bail applications, observing that both men were, at first glance, directly linked to the crime. The judge ruled that the graveyard secretary had tampered with records to conceal the burial, while the gravedigger hid critical information and failed to inform any authority about the murder.
The court concluded that neither was entitled to bail.
Meanwhile, three accused who had gone into hiding during the investigation – Ajmal Khan, Gul Badshah, and Asif Mir – surrendered before the court and sought protective bail.
The court accepted their interim bail applications, ordered police not to arrest or harass them until the next hearing, and directed them to join the investigation immediately.
Their bail applications will be heard in detail on October 7. At the same time, Judge Farhat Jabeen Rana issued notices to all 18 accused, including 10 who are currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail, to appear in court for the framing of charges.
The jail superintendent has been directed to ensure their presence on the next hearing date.
According to the police, Sidra’s father, mother, brother, former husband, father-in-law, uncle, sisters, and other relatives were involved in her killing.
While several suspects are in custody, Sidra’s mother, two sisters, sister-in-law, aunt, and mother-in-law remain at large.
