Qandeel Baloch, a self-proclaimed model, and Facebook celebrity, was killed by her brother who did not agree with his sister’s lifestyle. Baloch had traveled to Punjab from Karachi after the constant death threats she received after publishing pictures with the prominent cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi.

The area’s Regional Police Officer Sultan Azam told The Express Tribune that Qandeel, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, was killed by her brother over honor in Green Town area. He added that it appeared that she was strangled to death.

Qandeel-Baloch
Actress-model Qandeel Baloch. Credit: Tune.pk

Baloch’s parents told the police that her brother, Waseem Azeem, 30, strangled her on Friday night after an argument. They discovered her daughter’s body on Saturday morning. Both parents were taken into custody by the police, The Express Tribune reported.

The Express Tribune also reported that Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 302/109 of the Pakistan Penal Code at Muzaffarabad police station against Waseem Azeem after Baloch’s father accused him of murder.

Waseem Azeem was arrested Saturday night and after being presented to the Multan’s media, he confessed to killed his sister. Waseem justified his actions saying that people had tormented him because of Baloch’s photos, CBS News reports. Baloch was the primary person that economically supported the family, but Azeem did not care and sedated her during the night and then strangled her in her sleep.

Azeem told The Associated Press that the social embarrassment was unbearable, and he was determined to either kill himself or to kill her.

The Express Tribune says that according to family sources, her brothers had asked Baloch to stop modeling. Qandeel Baloch had six sisters and five other brothers. According to local police, they have not discarded the involvement of other family members.

The Nishter Hospital post-mortem report shows that the Pakistani celebrity was hit on the face and the neck before she was strangled. Her parents collected her body at the hospital Sunday morning. For the funeral, Baloch’s body will be taken to Dera Ghazi Khan because she was from that south Punjab area. Qandeel’s father said that his daughter was a brave woman, and he would not forget or forgive her brutal murder, The Express Tribune reports.

Qandeel Baloch: the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan and her escape from a violent marriage.

Young Qandeel Baloch, 26, started her online fame in Pakistan in 2014. Her first viral video portrayed her asking “How em looking.” She stormed the internet by sharing selfies and videos of herself.

In different Facebook videos, the model showed the world that she was a leading exponent of girl power. She has criticized Pakistan’s patriarchal society, and she has also commented on corruption.

Many young Pakistanis admired her because of her liberal views, but she was also hated by conservative people that attacked her with frequent misogynist comments online.  She had 40 thousand followers on Twitter and 700 thousand on Facebook, according to CBS News.

Baloch was compared to Kim Kardashian due to her provocative selfies, her pursuit of fame and the controversy around her, says the BBC.

A screengrab of Qandeel’s brother Wasim, who is now on the run. Credit: Tribune.com
A screengrab of Qandeel’s brother Wasim, who is now on the run. Credit: Tribune.com

Qandeel Baloch was a divorced woman and had a son, and she fled from her marriage because the man was violent with her. Her ex-husband says something different.

Ms. Qandeel told the Express Tribune that her husband, Aashiq Hussain of Kot Addu, used to beat her. Baloch was forced to marry Hussain, and she says he never acknowledge to his son that she was her mother.

Baloch told the Express Tribune that he tortured her during the year they were together and after the daily suffering, she ran with her son and sought refuge in Darul Aman.

Aashiq denies her statements and says that what they had was a love marriage. He claims to have her letters, which according to Hussain, she wrote with her blood, and added that she wanted a car and a bungalow from him.

Baloch’s scandalous pictures with cleric Mufti Abdul Qawi

Earlier this month, Qandeel published online some pictures taken with the prominent cleric Mufti Abdul Qawi during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. According to CBS News the pictures were taken in a Karachi hotel room and one photo, shows her wearing the cleric’s trademark fur-lined hat.

The controversial photos triggered several death threats, and she tried to seek a safe place, but the interior ministry ignored her petition, and she decided to go to Eidul Fitr with her parents.

After the release of the controversial content, Qandeel ridiculed the cleric on various TV channels, according to The Express Tribune. Mufti Abdul Qawi has also been nominated in a FIR for Baloch’s murder.

Mufti Qawi said to The Express Tribune that Baloch had come close to religion, she started fasting and was learning Islamic teachings from him. He stated that she had complained of bad omens and evil eyes of jealous people.

“Those who want to humiliate clerics must learn from Qandeel Baloch’s fate. Those who have done so must repent and should ask forgiveness from clerics as well as Almighty Allah,” he also said.

Mufti Qawi added that he had forgiven Qandeel, and he stated that he have never had any hatred for her.

After the pictures, Qavi was removed from his designation by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership. The PTI is a Pakistani political party. He was also suspended from the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, the official moon-sighting committee that decides when Ramadan begins and finish, The Express Tribune says.

Bilawal Bhutto, the chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), condemned Qandeel’s assassination and urged the Punjab government to arrest the responsible people.

He gave his opinion regarding Baloch’s killing on Twitter Saturday evening.

In Pakistan, Honour Killing is a common crime and because of Sharia, the Islamic law, the murderers convicted often escape punishment. Sharia law allows a murder victim’s family to pardon the killer.

Source: The Express Tribune