Sir: The murder by a policeman of his wife and mother-in-law in Lahore failed to make headline news, though in many other places it would have. The story goes that the newlywed couple were unable to get along and the wife left her husband after just a few months and went back home. When he came to her house and she refused to leave with him, he apparently opened fire on her and her mother, killing them both. The fact that this was a police officer makes the crime doubly horrific. First it shows just how terribly wrong the system of marriages in this country is. Women and men are routinely murdered for honour because they are unable to marry the people they want and the people chosen for them often have sociopathic tendencies. The traditional marriage routine was a product of its times, has very little place in today’s world, and causes more harm than good. Second, that a police officer would use his gun in this way shows the level of professionalism and control our police forces have. The public has repeatedly demanded police reform since it is clear that many unsuitable men join the police. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of an officer murdering his own family. Let us hope tragedies like this are not repeated. SABA CHAUDHRY Islamabad