MULTAN: Model, actress and social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death in her house in the Karimabad area in the early hours of Saturday morning. Her father claimed that she was killed by her younger brother, Waseem, in the name of honour.

A late night report said that Waseem had been picked up by the police in Dera Ghazi Khan.

According to an FIRlodged by Qandeel`s father Mohammad Azeem, his daughter came to Multan from Karachi to celebrate Eid with the family. He said that Waseem, 25, also came to meet them on July 14.

He said that he along with his wife went to sleep on the rooftop while Qandeel slept in a room where Waseem strangled her to death as he was against her worl(ing in showbiz. He alleged that Waseem had taken this extreme step at the behest of his brother Mohammad Aslam Shaheen.

Police and media personnel rushed to the house of Qandeel Baloch after the news of her murder spread.

`Qandeel took the singlestorey small house on rent about one and a half years ago,` a neighbour told Dawn.

He said that earlier she lived in a house in the same locality for more than two years but left it after its owner sold his property. He said Qandeel`s parents were living in her hometown of Shah Saddardin in Dera Ghazi Khan district.

`She came to Multan from Karachi rarely for a few days and called her parents to come and live with her,` the neighbour said, adding that her parents had been living in Multan for a couple of months because her father had broken his leg in a road accident and they had to stay here for his treatment.

He said the rent of the house and expenditures of her parents were being borne by Qandeel.

A woman neighbour said Qandeel was looking for a bride for Waseem these days. She said she had visited the model last night and her brother was watching television while she was in another room and everything was fine. `It is unbelievable. Qandeel was a very nice girl,` she added.

City police chief Azhar Akram told journaliststhat she had probably been strangled to death as there was no sign of bleeding.

Regional police officer Sultan Azam Temouri saiditappeared tobe anincidentofhonorkilling.

Born in March 1985, Qandeel`s real name was Fauzia Azeem.

Nishtar Hospital`s Medical Superintendent Dr Ashig Malik said that samples, including stomach with contents, intestine and liver, had been taken and sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for a chemical examination.

`Initially, it seems that she was strangled to death, but the actual cause of death will be determined in the light of forensic reports,` he added.At a press conference on June 28 in Lahore, Qandeel had said she had been receiving threats from unknown people and demanded security.

She said she had also written to the interior ministry, informing it about the threats.

Qandeel`s controversial selfie with Mufti Abdul Qavi hit the headlines last month. She had thousands of followers on social media.

Recently, a man from Kot Adu claimed that Qandeel was his wife and they had a son.

Arrangements were being made to send Qandeel`s body to her hometown of Shah Saddardin in Dera Ghazi Khan for burial when this report was filed.