The brother of a
controversial Pakistani social media star has been arrested for her
murder, confessing he strangled Qandeel Baloch for “honour”, police said
Sunday.
The killing of Baloch, infamous for selfies and videos
that by Western standards would appear tame but were polarising in
deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan, has sent a wave of shock and
revulsion through the country.
Her brother Muhammad Wasim was arrested late Saturday, Multan City police chief Azhar Akram told AFP.
“Wasim confessed to his crime, saying he killed his sister
for honour after her recent objectionable videos, mostly posted on
Facebook,” he said.
Wasim told police he drugged his sister and then strangled her.
Baloch,
26, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem,
rose to fame for her provocative Facebook posts that saw her praised by
some for breaking social taboos but condemned by conservatives.
In Facebook posts, Baloch spoke of trying to change “the typical
orthodox mindset” of people in Pakistan. She faced frequent misogynist
abuse and death threats but continued to post provocative pictures and
videos.
