Larger conspiracy behind Qandeel Baloch's murder, says her friend-director Maneesh Singh

He has demanded a thorough enquiry into the murder saying that it is not just a case of honor killing. Certain clerics and religious fanatics supported by a prominent terrorist group are behind the murder, alleged Maneesh Singh who knew Baloch for the last 18 months.

 

Says a shocked and stunned, Maneesh Singh who wanted to cast Qandeel Baloch in a film based on the true story of a Pakistani actress, said: "I spoke to her recently. We used to speak on phone 2-3 times a month. She seemed very worried and tense. She was asking me if it would be possible to come to India and settle down in Mumbai or some other city. She did not want to stay in Delhi or Kolkata as she felt she would not be safe there. She was visibly worried and knew that many people wanted to kill her. She was also having some financial problems."

 

"She had asked me for money on one or two occasions in the last two months. I told her to work in the Tv industry as that could help her make money. She desperately wanted to do Bigg Boss - like Veena Malik and kept asking me to speak to Colors and Endemol on her behalf. The earlier news about her entry into Bigg Boss 10 was a publicity stunt masterminded by her. I told her not to do it, but she would not listen. I told her that those whose names are leaked well in advance are dropped from the show, even if they are selected. But she only laughed. She had a mind of her own and would not listen to me at all," he said. 

 

"She did not tell me everything and I am sure she was not telling me the whole truth," said Maneesh Singh, who said that it is also possible that Baloch was in financial debt.

 

 "I do not know how she managed and afforded her lavish lifestyle. She had bought a house for a family and was spending a lot on her own upkeep and grooming. It seems she had a rich boyfriend in Dubai but I cannot say with certainty. What is certain however is that she wanted to flee Pakistan asap. She knew that her days were numbered if she stayed back in Pakistan. She told me that some religious fanatics had issued a "supari" or fatwa against her and wanted her dead. There was a price on her head and it was only a matter of time," Singh said. 

  

According to media reports Baloch's brother shot her in what is suspected to be an 'honour' killing. Another report says that say she may have been strangled.

 

Baloch, whose real name was Fouzia Azeem, had been dominating the headlines for the past week after videos of her twerking to a song were deemed objectionable.

 

Few days ago, a man claiming to be Baloch's husband stepped forward, and made several allegations against the model. Aashiq Hussain claimed that Fouzia (as Baloch was then known, had taken money from him and abandoned their son in his care) and had been married previously. Baloch had responded by saying that the marriage with Hussain had been an abusive one, and that her first marriage had taken place wen she was only 17, and without her consent.

 

In the meantime, another man, a Peshawar-based tailor named Shahid Baloch told Dunya News that he too had been married to Fouzia in the past, and that the marriage had taken place without her family's permission.

 

When leaders in Pakistan declared that Valentine's Day was against Pakistani culture and warned against its celebration, she had donned a red dress and posted a V-Day message for her social media followers. "Even at that time, I told her to be careful. Pakistan is not India or the West, I had said, but she only laughed out loudly. She claimed that she was in touch with some 'big people' in Pakistan and knew many politicians personally. 'They all want to meet me privately', she had told me. I just asked her to be very very careful," revealed Singh

 

According to media reports, after receiving threats to her life and in the midst of a personal crisis, Qandeel Baloch took off for an undisclosed location in Multan, and had said she hoped to leave Pakistan with her parents once the backlash quieted down. Little did she realize that her own family would do her in. She had a lot of fights with her family, but always felt that her family would stand by her in time of crisis as she was supporting them financially.

 

Maneesh Singh is associated with Vision Telefilms and Vrindaavan Films and is currently working on two Tamil film projects.