Islamabad bars family from pardoning Baloch’s killers

A First Information Report (FIR) registered against the nominated killers of Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was transformed into a non-compoundable FIR on Monday, police said, making it impossible for Qandeel’s family to pardon her killers.
Meanwhile, police said the prominent cleric who was censured for appearing in “selfie” photographs with the murdered celebrity is being investigated in connection with her killing.
Baloch, 26, described as the country’s Kim Kardashian, divided opinion in the deeply conservative society with her risqué photos. Her murder on Friday has shocked the country and sparked fresh debate about so-called honor killings.
Baloch’s brother, Muhammad Waseem, told media he drugged and strangled his sister as she had violated their family’s honor with her social media posts, including a series of selfies with cleric Abdul Qavi last month.
Police said Qavi, who was suspended from a prominent religious council after the photographs were published, was also part of their investigation into her murder.
“We have decided to widen the scope of the investigation and include Mufti Abdul Qavi in the probe,” Azhar Ikram, the police chief in the town of Multan, where Baloch was killed, told Reuters.
Qavi has denied any involvement in Baloch’s murder but told Reuters on Monday he would present himself to police for questioning if summoned.
Qavi told media on Saturday Baloch’s death should serve as an example for others who tried to malign the clergy, though he also stated that he had “forgiven her.”
Her pictures and videos outraged the conservatives who viewed her as a disgrace to the cultural values of Islam and Pakistan. Others hailed her as a “feminist icon.”

Source : Arab News