Islamabad: A high-profile Pakistani cleric was on Wednesday suspended from country's top religious body Ruet-i-Hilal after pictures of him with controversial model and internet sensation Qandeel Baloch surfaced on social media.
Qandeel, known for her bizzare ways to grab attaention, on Monday posted three selfies of herself with Mufti Abdul Qavi on her Facebook page, which went viral.
One of the images showed Qandeel playfully posing with the Mufti signature hat on her head, while he was seen holding a cell phone to his ear. Another picture showed Qandeel posing with Qavi sitting next to her.
Talking to DawnNews, Qavi said it was Baloch herself who had requested a meeting and came to meet him at a hotel. He also said he was unaware of his suspension from the two committees.
Qavi was also suspended as a member of the Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf opposition party, led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, a former socialite who became more religious after his retirement as a sportsman.
In a video of the meeting that Baloch uploaded on Facebook, Mufti Qavi can be seen saying that he will guide Baloch on spiritual and religious issues and that she had agreed to follow his instructions.
Denying all the claims made by the self proclaimed model and singer, Qavi said that Baloch was the one who had requested the meeting.
He said Baloch wanted lessons from me and that he had clearly informed her that he will meet her only on the condition that she will keep all the Ramzan fasts.
However, Baloch is now alleging Qavi of inappropriate behaviour, Baloch said the cleric had sought her number after the two had appeared on a TV panel together and that he had behaved inappropriately toward her.
"I thought I would expose him as he is in reality," she told AFP, adding: "He is a different person alone and different when he has his followers around him.
"He is a blot on the name of Islam. Who is he to claim to be a guardian of Islam?"
Baloch, often referred to as Kim Kardashian of Pakistan knows her to stay in limelight. She promised to strip naked if her country's national team defeated India in the ICC World Twenty20 in mid-March by posting an online video message on her Facebook page.
