‘Honour’ killing: HRCP urges govt to investigate ‘suicide’

HRCP expresses concern over reports that the police are not taking interest in investigating the case.

LAHORE: In a press statement issued here on Wednesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the Punjab government to ensure an early and transparent investigation of alleged ‘honour killing’ of a young woman in a Bahawalpur district village.

The statement said that the young woman, Saima, left her parents house in November for Karachi with Dilawar, whom she wanted to marry, as her family wanted her to marry someone else. Saima’s family took Dilawar’s father to Karachi with them and brought Saima back to Bahawalpur three days later and assured her that she would be married to Dilawar. However, she was confined in her house, where she died in unexplained circumstances on January 22.

The statement further said that in a letter to the Punjab government, the HRCP said, ”The family claims that Saima committed suicide. The doctor who conducted the post mortem examination says that there were visible marks of torture on her body.”

HRCP expressed concern over reports that the police were not taking interest in investigating the case. The HRCP also said that it “apprehends that crucial evidence in the case may be destroyed unless prompt action is taken.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd,  2011.