Qandeel’s murder: Cleric may be held

LAHORE: Pakistani police have declared a known cleric as a “suspect” in the murder of social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch and is likely to arrest him, a media report said on Saturday.

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“Mufti Abdul Qawi’s name has been made part of the Qandeel murder case on the statement of her father,” senior police officer Azhar Akram told Dawn.

“The cleric’s suspected role in her murder cannot be ruled out,” he said, adding police can arrest the cleric when sufficient evidence against him is available.

Qandeel was killed soon after her controversial pictures with Qawi appeared on her Facebook account. She had received death threats from Qawi’s followers for allegedly disgracing him.

Qandeel was found dead in her house on July 16. Muhammad Waeem, her brother, confessed to have strangled her in a “honour killing”. Waseem disclosed the name of his cousin Haq Nawaz as a co-suspect after the polygraph test.