A district and sessions court in Multan on Tuesday granted bail to Mufti Abdul Qavi in the Qandeel Baloch murder case almost a month after his arrest.
A day earlier, Qavi's bail hearing had been delayed due to the non-availability of a judge.
Qandeel had been murdered last year, allegedly by her brother Mohammad Waseem, who said he killed her in the name of 'honour'.
On Oct 18, Qavi had been arrested by police near Multan after his application for extension of pre-arrest bail was turned down and he subsequently escaped from court. One day prior to his arrest, Mufti Qavi had appeared before a sessions court for the first time in connection with the murder case.
On Oct 30, Muhammad Azeem's the slain celebrity's father had told the court that his daughter had been killed on Qavi's behest.
On Tuesday, District and Sessions Judge Ameer Khan granted bail to the cleric after a hearing of the case.
During the hearing, Qavi's lawyer argued before the court that his client was investigated only after a 'mysterious' call from Saudi Arabia asked the prosecution to do so.
"It is a wonder why Qavi is being investigated when Qandeel's brother Waseem has already confessed to the crime," he said.
During an earlier hearing of the case, Qavi had maintained that he had not done anything wrong or illegal.
