Updated September 27th, 2019 at 16:02 IST

Pakistan court sentences Qandeel Baloch's brother to life imprisonment

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the brother of Pakistani social media sensation Qandeel Baloch for murdering her in a case of honor killing in 2016

Reported by: Pritesh Kamath
| Image:self
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A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the brother of Pakistani social media sensation Qandeel Baloch for murdering her in a case of honor killing. Baloch was strangled to death at her home in Multan, Punjab province, on July 15, 2016. Muhammad Wasim, Baloch’s brother, had earlier confessed to having killed his 26-year-old sister because she brought "disrepute" to the "family's honor" with her indecent videos and statements posted on social media. Wasim has been convicted of life imprisonment while six others including two of Baloch’s brothers have been acquitted.

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About Qandeel Baloch

Baloch’s real name whose real name was Fauzia Azeem. She was also a participant of Pakistan Idol, a spin-off to American Idol. She shot to fame with her risqué videos and bold social media posts with people giving her the title of Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian. Baloch’s Facebook post talked about changing the “typical orthodox mindset" of the people of Pakistan. She drew strong criticism from the conservative section of Pakistan and also faced frequent abuse and death threats for her provocative videos and posts. 

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Parents file plea to acquit murderers

An international daily had reported in August about Baloch's parents submitting an affidavit in a Multan court, stating that they had forgiven everyone who was involved in their daughter’s murder and asked the court to acquit them, but their appeal was dismissed by the judge. 

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Baloch was married to Ashiq Hussain when she was just 17 years old and had a son from the same relationship. She divorced her husband in 2010 on the grounds of severe physical and mental abuse, losing the custody of her son after the divorce. She reportedly said that her husband tried to throw acid on her because she was beautiful. 

She shot to fame in March 2016 when she announced of performing a strip dance for Pakistan if the Pakistan Cricket team won the T20 World Cup and had also posted a teaser of the same on social media.

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Published September 27th, 2019 at 14:09 IST