This is late Qandeel Baloch
Brother of Qandeel Baloch, the murdered Pakistani social media star and model has been arrested by police, Al Jazeera reports.
Baloch was allegedly killed by her brother Muhammad Wasim on Friday night at their family house in the city of Multan, Punjab province
Wasim was arrested in Dera Ghazi Khan in central Pakistan late on Saturday.
Wasim confessed that he strangled her
for honour. “I have no regrets,” he said at a press conference organised
by police on Sunday.
Azhar Ikram, the police
chief in Multan said: “Wasim confessed to his crime, saying he killed
his sister for honour after her recent objectionable videos, mostly
posted on Facebook.”
“She wasn’t aware I was killing her. I
gave her a tablet and then strangled her. I am not ashamed. We are
Baloch and as Baloch we cannot tolerate (this),” Wasim was quoted as
saying.
Baloch had been heavily criticised and threatened for the kind of photos, videos, and comments she posted on social media.
Photo Credit: Instagram – @Qandeelbalochquebee
Slain Pakistan model Qandeel Baloch was buried on Sunday after her funeral prayers were offered in Dera Ghazi Khan.
A large number of people showed up to attend the funeral and burial of Baloch at Shah Sadar Din village. The slain model, who was also quite a controversial figure on social media due to her provocative Facebook videos, was strangled to death by her brother for 'honour'.
The brother of a murdered Pakistani celebrity said Sunday he is “not embarrassed” to have killed her, as Qandeel Baloch’s death reignited polarising calls for action against the “epidemic” of honour killings.
The strangling of Baloch, judged by many in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan as infamous for selfies and videos that by Western standards would appear tame, has prompted shock and revulsion.
“Yes of course, I strangled her,” Baloch’s brother Muhammad Wasim told reporters at a defiant press conference organised by police in the city of Multan early Sunday.
“She was on the ground floor while our parents were asleep on the roof top,” he continued. “It was around 10.45 pm when I gave her a tablet… and then killed her.”
Wasim said he acted alone.
“I am not embarrassed at all over what I did,” he said.
“Whatever was the case, it (his sister’s behaviour) was completely intolerable.”
Baloch, believed to be in her twenties and whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, was killed on Friday night at her family’s home near Multan.
Her brother, arrested a day later after her father filed a police complaint against him for the killing, appeared in court briefly Sunday ahead of another hearing set for Wednesday.
Hundreds of women are murdered for “honour” every year in Pakistan.
The killers overwhelmingly walk free because of a law that allows the family of the victim to forgive the murderer — who is often also a relative.
A vigil held late Saturday in Lahore was attended by dozens of mourners, while an online petition entitled “No Country for Bold Women” and demanding accountability over Baloch’s death had gained more than than 1,600 signatures Sunday.
A scathing editorial in Pakistan’s biggest English-language newspaper Dawn said her murder must serve as “impetus” for anti-honour killing legislation.
It lauded Baloch for “breezily” pushing the boundaries of what Pakistan considers “acceptable” behaviour for women, saying her determination to live on her own terms was “in itself an act of courage”.
But many conservatives pushed back, with some echoing Wasim’s statement by arguing that her family would have had “no choice”.
Baloch was buried early Sunday near her family home in southern Punjab.
Some of Baloch’s more notorious acts included volunteering to perform a striptease for the Pakistani cricket team, and donning a plunging scarlet dress on Valentine’s Day.
She also posed for selfies with a high-profile mullah in an incident that saw him swiftly rebuked by the country’s religious affairs ministry.
She told local media she had received death threats in the wake of the controversy, and that her requests for protection from authorities had been ignored.
Initially dismissed as a Kim Kardashian-like figure, she was seen by some as empowered in a country where women have fought for their rights for decades.
In her final Facebook post on July 4 she wrote how she was trying to “change the typical orthodox mindset of people”, and thanked her supporters for “understanding the message i (sic) try to convey through my bold posts and videos”.
“Qandeel was an extremely astute individual who knew that what she was doing was more than being the most loved bad girl of Pakistan,” columnist and activist Aisha Sarawari said.
Slain Pakistan model Qandeel Baloch was buried on Sunday after her funeral prayers were offered in Dera Ghazi Khan.
A large number of people showed up to attend the funeral and burial of Baloch at Shah Sadar Din village. The slain model, who was also quite a controversial figure on social media due to her provocative Facebook videos, was strangled to death by her brother for 'honour'.
The brother of a murdered Pakistani celebrity said Sunday he is “not embarrassed” to have killed her, as Qandeel Baloch’s death reignited polarising calls for action against the “epidemic” of honour killings.
The strangling of Baloch, judged by many in deeply conservative Muslim Pakistan as infamous for selfies and videos that by Western standards would appear tame, has prompted shock and revulsion.
“Yes of course, I strangled her,” Baloch’s brother Muhammad Wasim told reporters at a defiant press conference organised by police in the city of Multan early Sunday.
“She was on the ground floor while our parents were asleep on the roof top,” he continued. “It was around 10.45 pm when I gave her a tablet… and then killed her.”
Wasim said he acted alone.
“I am not embarrassed at all over what I did,” he said.
“Whatever was the case, it (his sister’s behaviour) was completely intolerable.”
Baloch, believed to be in her twenties and whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, was killed on Friday night at her family’s home near Multan.
Her brother, arrested a day later after her father filed a police complaint against him for the killing, appeared in court briefly Sunday ahead of another hearing set for Wednesday.
Hundreds of women are murdered for “honour” every year in Pakistan.
The killers overwhelmingly walk free because of a law that allows the family of the victim to forgive the murderer — who is often also a relative.
A vigil held late Saturday in Lahore was attended by dozens of mourners, while an online petition entitled “No Country for Bold Women” and demanding accountability over Baloch’s death had gained more than than 1,600 signatures Sunday.
A scathing editorial in Pakistan’s biggest English-language newspaper Dawn said her murder must serve as “impetus” for anti-honour killing legislation.
It lauded Baloch for “breezily” pushing the boundaries of what Pakistan considers “acceptable” behaviour for women, saying her determination to live on her own terms was “in itself an act of courage”.
But many conservatives pushed back, with some echoing Wasim’s statement by arguing that her family would have had “no choice”.
Baloch was buried early Sunday near her family home in southern Punjab.
Some of Baloch’s more notorious acts included volunteering to perform a striptease for the Pakistani cricket team, and donning a plunging scarlet dress on Valentine’s Day.
She also posed for selfies with a high-profile mullah in an incident that saw him swiftly rebuked by the country’s religious affairs ministry.
She told local media she had received death threats in the wake of the controversy, and that her requests for protection from authorities had been ignored.
Initially dismissed as a Kim Kardashian-like figure, she was seen by some as empowered in a country where women have fought for their rights for decades.
In her final Facebook post on July 4 she wrote how she was trying to “change the typical orthodox mindset of people”, and thanked her supporters for “understanding the message i (sic) try to convey through my bold posts and videos”.
“Qandeel was an extremely astute individual who knew that what she was doing was more than being the most loved bad girl of Pakistan,” columnist and activist Aisha Sarawari said.
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