Mick Hartley

Well, this is grim:

Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch has been killed by her brother in an apparent 'honour killing' in the province of Punjab, police say.

Ms Baloch, 26, recently caused controversy by posting controversial pictures of herself on social media, including one alongside a Muslim cleric.

Caused controversy by posting controversial pictures? Got it. Though they wouldn't be considered controversial in any sane society.

Police say she was strangled to death.

Cases of women being killed for 'dishonouring' their family are commonplace in Pakistan.

Qandeel Baloch became a household name for posting bold, sometimes raunchy, photographs, video and comments….

"[Her] brothers had asked her to quit modelling," family sources quoted by the Tribune said.

Sources quoted by the newspaper said that Wasim was upset about her uploading controversial pictures online and had threatened her about it.

Police said he had not been arrested and was on the run….

Ms Baloch rose to fame in Pakistan in 2014 when a video of her pouting at the camera and asking "How em looking?" went viral.

In a recent interview she was bitterly critical of Pakistan's patriarchal society and described herself as a leading exponent of girl power.

While many younger people saw her as a cultural icon and hailed her liberal views, she was also subjected to frequent misogynist abuse online.

Her request for better security was ignored by the government, Dawn reported, despite pleas made three weeks ago to the interior minister and other senior officials.

Hundreds of women are murdered every year in Pakistan in so-called honour killing cases.

She has an official Facebook page. Her last post, on July 4th, included a somewhat patronising BBC podcast about her  "mainly a social media star – also one of the country's most controversial figures – think Kim Kardashian without the reality TV show…":

Atleast international media can see what i am upto. How 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.
Here this one is for those people only.
Thankyou my believers and supporters for understanding the message i try to convey through my bold posts and videos. It's time to bring a change because the world is changing. let's open our minds and live in present.

Controversial indeed. 

The comments are, mostly, a swamp of garbage and abuse. Here's one comment, to give an idea of the kind of people who are pleased about this:

The real point is – Non-Muslims are not interested in a rational conversation. There are issues around the world but non-Muslims solution to undress the women, objectify her, strip her of her protected feminine status, make her naked in bars clubs and force her to live the life of a prostitute (Like most Hindu and Western girls live) is NOT A SOLUTION. ……………….. On the opposite side, Islam protects the women by demanding a dress code for both "men and women" and extra marital affairs which are a root cause of violence against women are swiftly punished. What we are celebrating here is another FAILURE of the West to remake muslims in their despicable image, not the death of one person. If any non Muslim moron wishes to reply, come and have a rational discussion. I wonder if they will dare

Update: the killer has been arrested.

The brother of Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch has been arrested for her murder.

Waseem Baloch, 25, was arrested in Dera Ghazi Khan in central Pakistan on Saturday night.

The Dawn newspaper said he had confessed to the murder, saying he drugged and strangled her "for dishonouring the Baloch name".