Two years on, Qandeel murder case yet to make substantial headway

MULTAN: Two years after the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, the Muzaffarabad police have yet to submit complete challan in the case, Geo News reported. Qandeel’s brother Waseem and other relatives are still imprisoned over involvement in the case, while her other brothers, Arif and Aslam, are out on bail. Cleric Mufti Qavi was also arrested in the case in October last year after a court rejected his bail. However, his bail was restored around a month later after he remained in police custody where he also gave a polygraph test. According to the police, Qavi, while in custody, said the owner and driver of the vehicle who brought Qandeel’s murder suspects - Waseem and Nawaz - from DG Khan to Multan and then brought them back is his cousin Abdul Basit. Fauzia Azeem popularly known by as Qandeel Baloch shot to fame for her provocative ‘selfies’ and videos that polarised Pakistan. She was allegedly strangled on July 15, 2016, by her brother Waseem. In his ‘confession’, Waseem claimed she had brought shame on the family and owned up to his crime in a press conference after his arrest the same day. Waseem, his cousin Haq Nawaz and Abdul Basit were indicted in December 2016 and pleaded not guilty. Prior to her death, Qandeel, 26, spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry for providing her with security. In Facebook posts, she spoke of trying to change “the typical orthodox mindset” of Pakistanis.