The brother of a social media star dubbed the 'Pakistan Kim Kardashian' was today convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison in the country's highest-profile 'honour killing'.
Qandeel Baloch, who shot to fame for her risque selfies considered highly controversial in Pakistan, was strangled in July 2016.
Her brother Muhammad Waseem was arrested and said he killed her for the shame she had brought on his family.
Days later he told a press conference that he had no remorse over what he did, saying that 'of course' he had murdered his sister and that her behaviour had been 'intolerable'.
Muslim cleric Mufti Qavi, who took selfies with Baloch a month before her murder, was also on trial but was acquitted today.
After the verdict, his supporters gathered outside the court showered him with rose petals.
He was previously sacked from his position on a government committee and rebuked by a religious affairs council after images were released of Baloch wearing his hat and pouting.
After the selfies in 2016, Baloch called Qavi a 'blot on the name of Islam' and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
She said at the time: 'I thought I would expose him as he is in reality. He is a different person alone and different when he has his followers around him.'
Baloch's other brother Aslam Shaheen, Haq Nawaz, Abdul Basit, Muhammad Zafar Hussain and Gafti were also acquitted.
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Waseem's lawyer, Sardar Mehmood, told AFP 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 told AFP she had hoped her son would be acquitted.
'He is innocent. She was my daughter and he is my son,' she said.
Last month, Baloch's parents tried to free Waseem, saying they had forgiven him.
Baloch's murder made international headlines and reignited calls for action against an epidemic of so-called 'honour killings', in which a victim -- usually a woman -- is murdered for flouting patriarchal social codes.
Women have been burned, shot, stabbed and strangled for offences such as choosing their own husband or -- in Baloch's case -- bringing 'shame' on their family by celebrating their sexuality.
The killings are usually carried out by a close relative. Under Pakistan's Qisas (blood money) and Diyat (retribution) law, they can then seek forgiveness from a victim's relatives.
Three months after Baloch's murder, parliament passed new legislation mandating life imprisonment for honour killings.
However, whether a murder is defined as a crime of honour is left to the judge's discretion, meaning that killers can theoretically claim a different motive and still be pardoned.
In Baloch's case, her parents initially insisted their son would be given no absolution.
But, heartbroken at the thought of losing him also, they changed their minds and said they wanted him to be forgiven.
International revulsion at the killing had seen the Pakistani state take the unprecedented step of declaring itself an heir alongside the parents, however, forcing the case to move ahead.
Some of Baloch's better-known actions included offering to perform a striptease for the Pakistani cricket team, and donning a plunging scarlet dress on Valentine's Day.
She attracted criticism and threats but was perceived by many, including young people, as breaking new ground in a country where presenting yourself as a Kim Kardashian-like figure can be seen as a bold, political act of women's empowerment.
In 2015, she was one of the top ten Googled people in Pakistan.
The roots of 'honour' killings lie in tribal social norms, which remain prevalent across South Asia and dictate the behaviour of women in particular, though men can be victims too.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
