Qandeel Baloch is a well-known name in Pakistan
A Pakistani court has acquitted the brother of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch of the murder charge.
Muhammad Waseem was sentenced to life imprisonment, following he confessed to killing Baloch, who goes by the Pakistani name Kim Kardashian, in July 2016.
Baloch’s brother said at the time that the reason he killed her was because she had brought shame to the family.
The court order has not yet been published, but lawyers said the decision came following Wassim retracted his confession and his parents requested his release.
Baloch’s murder in 2016 sent shockwaves through Pakistan and made headlines in many parts of the world.
The 26-year-old has become a household name in Pakistan, having occasionally posted daring photos, comments and videos on social media, and has had hundreds of thousands of followers.
The young woman was well aware of the opposition she faced in the conservative Islamic state, but that did not dampen her determination to publish what she wanted.
Her brother Waseem said he drugged her and then strangled her to death “for insulting the Baloch family name”. He was sentenced in late 2019 to life imprisonment for her murder.
Wassim’s lawyer told the BBC that the decision to acquit him came following his parents said they had pardoned him, and following Waseem filed a complaint that the police had extracted his confessions under duress.
Waseem’s mother, Anwar Bibi, welcomed the ruling and told reporters: “I am grateful to the court, which ordered my son’s release at our request.”
But, she added, “we are still saddened by the loss of our daughter.”
Waseem is expected to be released later this week.