A Multan court has charged the brother of a slain social media star with her murder, the final step before a trial begins in one of the country’s highest-profile “honour killings”.Three accused in the Qandeel Baloch murder case, including her brother, denied having killed the social media celebrity, after they were indicted by the court here on Monday.
When Additional District and Sessions Judge Saeed Ahmad Raza indicted the three accused -- Qandeel’s brother Waseem, her cousin Haq Nawaz and taxi driver Abdul Basit -- they denied committing the crime.
The fourth co-accused, Zafar Hussain Khosa, was declared an absconder by the court.
The three accused were brought for appearance in the court from jail.
The court fixed Dec 8 as next date of hearing while issuing directions to the witnesses to appear before it.
Meanwhile, Lahore High Court, Multan bench, granted bail to one of the accused, Abdul Basit.
Qandeel was found murdered in her rented house in Multan on July 16. Her father had alleged that she was killed by her younger brother, Waseem, in the name of honour.
Waseem, who had allegedly fled from the scene, later courted arrest. He later confessed to having killed his sister at a press conference.
The police had claimed that Waseem had also made a confession in the presence of an area magistrate. But the counsel for the accused denied any such confession.
Model Qandeel Baloch, who shot to fame for her provocative selfies that polarised the conservative Muslim country, was strangled in July by her brother Muhammad Waseem. He said she had brought shame on the family and confessed to his crime in a press conference after his arrest.
The model was sexually demeaned by her detractors. But fans praised her for daring to challenge social norms by appearing in videos that by Western standards would appear tame.
Waseem was produced before a court in the central city of Multan on Monday along with his cousin Haq Nawaz whom police deemed to be an accomplice, though the nature of his involvement was unclear.
A second indicted accomplice, taxi driver Abdul Basit, is on bail. “Judge Muhammad Saeed Raza indicted all the three men and adjourned the hearing until December 8,” a government prosecutor told AFP on condition of anonymity Tuesday, because he is not authorised to speak to media.
He added the accused had pleaded not guilty. “The court also asked police to submit a complete list of charges against all the accused on the next date of hearing,” the prosecutor added.
Some of Baloch’s more notorious acts included offering 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 religious affairs ministry.
Waseem told a press conference in July he was not remorseful over what he did, calling his sister’s behaviour “intolerable”. Her murder reignited calls for action against so-called “honour killings”, in which a victim is killed by a close relative — who could subsequently be pardoned by another family member under Pakistan law.
In October parliament passed a law aimed at removing the ability to forgive “honour” killers. But critics contend some loopholes still exist.
