Brother of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch sentenced to life

The brother of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch has been jailed for life, three years after her murder.

Waseem confessed to strangling Baloch, 26, in July 2016. At the time, he said it was because the star had brought shame on the family.

His lawyer, Sardar Mehmood, said the court in the eastern city of Multan had found his client guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment, in a long-awaited verdict.

“Inshallah (God willing), he will be acquitted by a High Court,” he said.

Earlier, Baloch’s mother Anwar Mai said she had hoped her son would be acquitted.

“He is innocent. She was my daughter and he is my son,” she said.

On Friday, a court acquitted six other men charged in connection with the killing, including religious scholar, Mufti Abdul Qavi.

Baloch's family had initially pointed the finger at the mufti, saying he had instigated the murder after he was criticised for taking selfies with the social media star a month before her death.

He has always denied any involvement.

Qandeel Baloch was Pakistan's first social media star. She was born Fouzia Azeem, and came from a poor family in a town about 400km (248 miles) south-west of Lahore.

Often dubbed the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan, she had hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. She posted images and videos of herself twerking and singing, breaking strict taboos in socially conservative Pakistan.