Pakistani police arrest brother of slain model

Pakistani police officers present Waseem Azeem, the brother of slain model Qandeel Baloch, before the media following his arrest at a police station in Multan, Pakistan, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer)

MULTAN, Pakistan: Pakistani police say the brother of slain model Qandeel Baloch has confessed to strangling her to death for “family honor” because she posted “shameful” pictures on Facebook.
Baloch had stirred controversy by posting pictures online of herself with a prominent Muslim cleric. She was found dead on Saturday at her family home in the central city of Multan. Her brother, Waseem Azeem, was arrested Sunday.
“Wasim confessed to his crime, saying he killed his sister for honor after her recent objectionable videos, mostly posted on Facebook,” Multan police chief Akram Azhar said. Aweem told police he drugged his sister and then strangled her.
Azhar said authorities will charge the man with carrying out a so-called honor killing and seek the “maximum punishment.” Murder carries a potential death sentence, and the honor killing charge will make Azeem ineligible for a family pardon.
Nearly 1,000 women are killed by close relatives in Pakistan each year for violating conservative norms on love and marriage.