Two girls killed for ‘honour’ by brothers

By Shahnawaz Khan

LAHORE: Two girls fell victim to apparent honour killings by their brothers on Monday.

Asima was gunned down by her brother Haider Ali as she came to the Lahore High Court for the hearing of a Hudood case against her and her husband Tawakal Hussain. As the couple, her father-in-law Fateh Sher, sister-in-law Gulnaz and a man named Maqsood parked at the LHC building on Turner Road, Haider opened fire on the car.

Asima, Gulnaz, Fateh Sher and Maqsood were injured and taken to Mayo Hospital, where Asima died. The rest are reported to be in critical condition.

Haider was grabbed by witnesses and handed over to the police. He was booked under Section 302 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. He told police he had killed his sister because she married Tawakal without her family’s consent.

Asima’s mother Rani had filed a petition in the LHC before Justice Bashir A Mujahid, alleging that Tawakal and his family had kidnapped Asima, who she said was just 14, and her younger sister Anam, 12, on July 7 and raped them repeatedly. She said Chiniot police were not registering a case against them because Fateh Sher was a constable.

Rani said her daughters were recovered by ASI Nasir Abbas after an FIR was lodged with Chiniot City police station on July 20. However, she said the ASI refused to record her daughters’ statements or get them medically examined.

She said the kidnappers had forced Asima to sign a nikkah nama and some blank documents. On the basis of these documents, the alleged kidnappers had succeeded in getting custody of her two daughters. She said her younger daughter had escaped and revealed that they were kept like prisoners.

Rani had also asked the court to protect her daughters for she feared that Fateh Sher would kill them. The case was adjourned after Asima’s murder.

In the second incident, a man killed his sister because she wanted to marry her neighbour. 20-year-old Razia of Sitara Colony was in love with her neighbour Nawazish Ali and wanted to marry him, but her family was against the match. Razia tried to run away two days ago, but her father brought her back on Monday. Her brother Muhammad Irfan tried to convince her that the marriage would not work, but she stuck to her guns and they got into an argument. Irfan grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his sister to death. The body was sent for an autopsy.

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