Baloch, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, shot to fame and notoriety with a series of social media postings that would be tame by Western standards but were deeply scandalous by conservative Pakistani societal norms.
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Qavi, who was suspended from a prominent Muslim council in the controversy following the posts, told local media after Baloch’s death he had “forgiven her” and the matter was now in God’s hands. But Islamic law in Pakistan allows a murder victim’s family to pardon the killer, which often allows those convicted of honour killings to escape punishment.
“She was bringing disrepute to our family’s honour and I could not tolerate it any further”.
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 her death had gone viral by Sunday with hundreds of signatures. In one picture, she is wearing the cleric’s trademark fur-lined hat. The killing sent shockwaves across Muslim Pakistan and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media for Baloch.
Baloch had enquired how her identificaition documents were collected from the respective authorities, claiming that the officials involved were trying to “destroy her image in show biz”. But Waseem said his brother had nothing to do with the killing, said Pakistan Today.
“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 told AFP. She cultivated an outrageous public persona, recently promising to perform a public striptease if the Pakistani cricket team won a major tournament.
Prior to her death Baloch spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security for protection.
On July 14, she posted the following: “As a women we must stand up for ourselves.As a women we must stand up for each other.As a women we must stand up for justice”.
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They said he fled with two friends who were still being sought.
