Qandeel Baloch, Pakistani Social Media Star, Strangled to Death By Her Brother

The outlet also received confirmation from Baloch’s parents that their daughter was killed “following an argument” and that they discovered her body in the morning.

Although many Twitter users praised her yesterday, one said: ‘What she [was] doing is a disgrace for Pakistan so she deserve [sic] this.’ More than 500 people -almost all women – die in Pakistan each year in such killings. She was killed in Multan on Friday, the police said, adding that the brother, Wasim, was now on the run.

Baloch had struggled to reconcile her family’s conservative values with her social media stunts, including the selfie with the cleric that led to widespread condemnation from powerful religious figures. She had argued with her brother Waseem earlier that day over money issues and provocative photos she had posted, according to Reuters. As Rebecca Traister noted in NY magazine, the tie that binds mass killers in the United States and overseas seems not to be race or religion, but a deep-seated hatred of and perceived right to have control over women.

Ms Baloch, 26, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem, had travelled with her family from the city of Karachi to Muzzafarabad village in central Punjab province for the recent Eid holiday.

Baloch’s parents have been taken into custody, according to the Tribune. She rose to prominence from her videos discussing her daily routine and various controversial issues.

On her final, July 4 post to her Facebook page, which has nearly 800,000 fans, she wrote: “I am trying to change the typical orthodox mindset of people who don’t wanna come out of their shells of false beliefs and old practices“.

Baloch shot to fame in Pakistan in 2014 after a video of her pouting at the camera and asking “How em looking?” went viral.

Baloch’s audition video on Pakistan Idol became one of her most widely-watched videos. Her defiance of tradition and defence of liberal views won her many admirers among Pakistan’s overwhelmingly young population. It is not clear whether she was administered any poisonous substance before the actual killing, but the police is investigating that angle too.

Oscar-winning documentary film maker and activist Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has been campaigning for legislation to end honor killing in Pakistan.