Pakistani social media star's honour killing: Qandeel Baloch's killer-brother released despite lifer

The brother of a Pakistani social media star, who was murdered in one of the country's most notorious "honour killings," was acquitted on Monday after serving less than six years in prison, lawyers said.

Qandeel Baloch, 26, became famous for her defiant posts which flew in the face of the nation's deeply patriarchal mores before her death in 2016.

Her brother Muhammad Waseem was arrested and later sentenced to life in prison for strangling her, brazenly telling the press he had no remorse for the slaying because her behaviour was "intolerable".

"He has been fully acquitted" by a court in the eastern city of Multan, his lawyer Sardar Mehboob told AFP, without giving further details.

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The court order has yet to be made public.

The case became the most high profile "honour killing" of recent years -- where women are dealt lethal punishment by male relatives for purportedly bringing "shame" to the reputation of a family.

Under a recent Pakistani law change, perpetrators are no longer able to seek forgiveness from the victim's family -- sometimes their own family -- and to have their sentences commuted.

However, whether or not a murder is defined as a crime of honour is left to the judge's discretion, meaning killers can theoretically claim a different motive and still be pardoned.