Qandeel Baloch's brother, Waseem, who confessed to strangling his sister in a so-called 'honour killing' was due to be brought to court with two alleged accomplices on Thursday, but the trial was postponed because of a lawyers' strike. Model Qandeel Baloch, who shot to fame for her provocative selfies, was strangled in July by her brother Waseem Azeem.
Waseem was set to be produced before a court in Multan on Thursday along with his cousin Haq Nawaz whom police deemed to be an accomplice, and Abdul Basit, a taxi driver. The alleged nature of the accomplices' involvement was unclear.
Waseem said Qandeel had brought shame on the family and confessed to his crime in a press conference after his arrest. The model was criticised by detractors who found her posts indecent, but fans praised her for daring to challenge social norms by appearing in videos.
Waseem, Haq Nawaz and Abdul Basit were indicted by an Additional District and Sessions Judge but pleaded not guilty to the murder.
Jam Salahuddin, the district prosecutor, said: "Six police witnesses were not able to record their statements because of the lawyers strike," adding the accused were also not brought in for the same reason.
The court has yet to announce its next date of hearing.
Salahuddin said the prosecution was urging the court to also indict cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi for his role in allegedly inciting Qandeel's killers.
"We want the court to indict those too who instigated the killers to kill her," he said.
Her murder reignited calls for action against so-called 'honour killings', in which a victim killed by a close relative can subsequently be pardoned by another family member under local law.
In October, parliament passed a law aimed at removing the ability to forgive 'honour' killers but critics contend some loopholes still exist.
