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Updated 05 Jul, 2018

A book on the life and influence of Pakistan's most controversial social media star Qandeel Baloch isn't just being read around the world but proudly shown off too.

Soon after its launch on May 10, photos of The Sensational Life & Death of Qandeel Baloch began springing up from her hometown Multan to Lahore and Hunza as well as destinations like Istanbul and London.

"It started very randomly when a man sent me a message on Twitter, telling me that's he just got his copy of Qandeel Baloch and he's taking it to Hunza," reveals author Sanam Maher. "He sent a photo of the book against a backdrop of mountains and when I shared that on Instagram, similar photos began flooding in as people started getting their books."

The blazing red cover of Qandeel Baloch has been spotted against known landmarks of Pakistani cities and lots of readers have proudly displayed them on vacation too. In total, the book has been spotted in 13 countries, including Pakistan, India, UAE, Qatar, Thailand, Myanmar, Turkey, England, Switzerland, Spain, US, Canada and Australia.

Maher further shared, "People message me things like 'Oh, I took Qandeel out for lunch today'. I think that's really interesting because when Qandeel was killed, people felt that very personally. It wasn't just another honour killing or one of the hundreds of stories we hear. There was a connection, an emotional response that was so significant, it was a turning point. Now that the book's come out, it has Qandeel's face on the cover and her name as well, i think it kind of carries on that connection that people felt."

Also read: "I get asked, why write about Qandeel Baloch; hasn't she done Pakistan enough damage?"

While those travel photos are popular, Maher reveals that she's also getting photos of the book with reader's pets... "like dogs and cats reading the book", she explained. "I stopped posting those because I figured maybe some people won't appreciate that."

Maher says her book's also attracted some little admirers. "I've had lots of messages from mothers saying that 'my kid isn't giving the book back to me'," she laughs. "Children are apparently liking the cover because it's so bright and colourful."

Here are all the places Qandeel Baloch has gone:

She's been all over Pakistan -- that includes hometown Multan and Karachi, Lahore, Hunza and Shigar.

Multan
Multan


Multan, again
Multan, again


Karachi
Karachi


Lahore
Lahore


Hunza
Hunza


Shigar
Shigar

London's off her bucket list...


So is Geneva:

And Istanbul:

She's been around Yangon, Myanmar quite a bit:


She was also spotted on a flight to Doha:

She's checked off a few cities in North America: Chicago, Seattle, Ottawa

Seattle
Seattle


Chicago
Chicago


Ottawa
Ottawa

She made it to Mumbai, India too!

Also spent a little time in Coorg:

Sharjah's done too:

She's visited York:

Check her out in Valladolid, Spain

Beaches in Thailand, check!

No scenic backdrop here, but here she is on a tabletop in Sydney, Australia:

Comments

bradah809@gmail.com Jul 05, 2018 08:28pm
She travels the world in spirit so she lives on ! God Bless
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Rowa Jul 06, 2018 12:21am
Kind of sad..she's getting all this love when she's dead and all she got when she was alive was curses and hate.
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