Qandeel's parents bribed to change testimony, police say

Case registered against Muhammad Azeem and Anwar Bibi for 'backtracking' statement against elder son

ISLAMABAD: Police said on Friday that they have filed a criminal case against the parents of slain social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, alleging they were bribed to change their testimony to protect one of two sons facing trial in her suspected 'honour killing'.

Qandeel, an avowed feminist whose raunchy photos posted online challenged social norms in the country, was found strangled in July at her parents' home in Muzzafarabad, Punjab.

Her death drew renewed attention to the practice of relatives killing women thought to have brought shame on their family. The government has since tightened legislation against such 'honour killings', including removing the right of families to forgive those responsible.



Qandeel's parents, Muhammad Azeem and Anwar Bibi, had originally implicated two of their sons in the killing, but in court proceedings on Wednesday they said their elder son, Aslam Shaheen, was not involved.

Qandeel's parents, Muhammad Azeem and Anwar Bibi. PHOTO: FILE

In a First Information Report (FIR), which marks the formal opening of a criminal investigation, Muzzafarabad police officer Allah Bakhsh alleged seeing Qandeel's parents receive an envelope from Aslam Shaheen outside the courthouse in Multan, where the murder case is being heard.



"He told them that he has fulfilled their demand. Now, they should record their statement in the court in his favour," reads the FIR, indicating that the parents had taken a bribe to change their testimony.

Qandeel's parents denied the accusation.

"We had wrongly nominated Aslam Shaheen in Baloch's murder case. It was the outcome of anger," Muhammad Azeem and Anwar Bibi told a news conference outside their home.

Qandeel received frequent online abuse including death threats before her murder but refused to back down, writing in one Facebook post about changing "the typical orthodox mindset" of people in the country.