Islamabad: Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was killed for bringing “shame” to the family by posting risque videos and posts on Facebook, was strangled to death by her cousin and not by her brother, according to a polygraph test.
The main accused of the case Muhammad Waseem had earlier confessed that he had strangled his 26-year-old sister. However, the claim was rejected after a polygraph test of both suspects was conducted on Saturday.
According to the test, it was her cousin Haq Nawaz and not Waseem, who had strangled the social media to death on July 15 this year.
Before killing Qandeel, the suspects had drugged the model and her parents, they added.
Sources said video and written statements of both suspects have also been recorded.
According to them, it was shown during investigation that the elder brother Arif, who resides in Saudi Arabia, had pressurised Waseem into killing their sister Qandeel for “honour of the family”.
They said that after the conversation, Waseem and Haq Nawaz planned the model’s murder.
Prior to her death Qandeel, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, spoke of worries about her safety and had appealed to the interior ministry to provide her with security for protection.
In Facebook posts, Baloch spoke of trying to change “the typical orthodox mindset” of people in Pakistan. She faced frequent abuse and death threats but continued to post controversial pictures and videos.
The so-called ‘honour-killing’ has sent shock waves across the country and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media for Baloch.
Pakistani police also recorded written statement of cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi who made headlines for appearing in a controversial video with the slain Pakistani model, gave a written statement to police on Saturday.
Qavi did not appear before police to record his statement for the ongoing investigation of the murder of model Qandeel Baloch. The investigation team then sent him a 14-point questionnaire.