Six arrested for honour killing of couple

SSP Malir Javed Akbar Riaz says couple had run away from their homes a year ago

KARACHI: Police have arrested six suspects in connection with Wednesday’s strangling of a married couple on the orders of a Jirga -- barely three weeks after parliament toughened up penalties for honour killings.

Both Ismat and his wife Irfana were killed in the name of honour in the wee hours of Wednesday allegedly by the woman’s family within the remits of the Shah Latif Town police station.

SSP Malir Javed Akbar Riaz told The Express Tribune that the couple had run away from their homes a year ago and had gotten married before settling down in a rented house in Orangi Town.

Irfana had left her former husband and married Ismat of her own will, SSP Riaz said. Their actions infuriated the woman’s family and her former in-laws since it was a matter of honour for them. According to Shah Latif Town SHO Raja Abbas, the family called the couple to their home in Malir to sort out issues.

The SHO said the man was strangled to death with a rope while the woman was killed with her own dupatta. He said the police came to know of the incident on their own and they uncovered the truth when they opened an investigation into the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2016.