The brother of a murdered Pakistani celebrity said he killed her after she refused to stop posting provocative photos and videos on Facebook.
Muhammad
Waseem said he was 'not embarrassed' to have killed Qandeel Baloch's
despite the death leading to calls for action against the 'epidemic' of
honour killings
The
strangling of Miss Baloch, 26, a controversial figure in deeply
conservative Muslim Pakistan for posting selfies and videos that would
appear tame by Western standards, has prompted a wave of shock and
revulsion.
Her
brother was arrested late Saturday, Multan City police chief Azhar
Akram said, and confessed to drugging then strangling her 'for honour'.
'Yes of course, I strangled her,' Waseem said at a press conference, organised by police, 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.'
Waseem said he acted alone.
He
added: 'I am not embarrassed at all over what I did. Whatever was the
case, it (his sister's behaviour) was completely intolerable.'
Miss
Baloch, believed to be in her twenties and whose real name was Fauzia
Azeem, rose to fame for her Facebook posts that saw her praised by some
for breaking social taboos but condemned by conservatives.
She was killed on Friday night at her family's home near Multan.
Up
to 100 officers were gathered outside her family's home in
Muzzafarabad, preventing neighbours from gathering. Five ambulances were
also parked nearby.
The model shared hundreds of videos of her dancing in minimal clothing with her 123,000 Instagram followers.
Waseem went on the run and was arrested late Saturday in neighbouring Muzaffargarh district.
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.
Filmmaker
Sharmeemn Obaid-Chinoy, whose documentary on honour killings won an
Oscar earlier this year, slammed Miss Baloch's murder as symptomatic of
an 'epidemic' of violence against women in Pakistan.
She
joined other liberals in Pakistan who called for anti-honour killing
legislation. 'Activists have screamed themselves hoarse,' she said.
'When will it stop?'
But many conservatives pushed back, with some arguing online that her family would have had 'no choice'.
The pictures
showed Miss Baloch wearing her traditional lamb's wool cap as she posed
next to the cleric. Qavi later said she had asked him for a meeting and
they met in a hotel.
On
Valentine's Day, she donned a plunging scarlet dress and posted a video
message defying the country's president, who had issued a stern warning
against the 'Western' celebration. The post garnered more than 70,000
'likes'.
Speaking
at the time, she said: 'People are going crazy - especially girls. I
get so many calls where they tell me I'm their inspiration and they want
to be like me.'
She had reportedly spoken of leaving the country after Eid out of fear for her safety.
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