Marrying by choice: In ‘honour killing’, teenager shot dead by brother

Victim’s father-in-law said he was worried about safety of his daughter, who is married to the suspect

ABBOTABAD: An 18-year-old woman was allegedly shot by her brother for marrying a man of her choice in a remote village in Balakot Tehsil, police said on Sunday.

SZ* told police that his son AS* was in love with FB*, who was also a distant relative. They agreed to approach the girl’s family with a marriage proposal. However, FB’s family turned down the proposal. But, around five months ago, the couple eloped and married without seeking consent of either family.



Subsequently FB’s family demanded that SZ return their daughter or commit to badl-e-sulah –  a tribal custom of giving another girl and some money in exchange . A jirga approved of the dispute reolution mechanism which would see SZ’s daughter NB* marry FB’s brother SA*, along with a payoff of Rs400,000.

SZ told the police that on Friday night, after AS had left for work in Karachi, SA came to his house with four unidentified men and stabbed FB four times before opening fire. She died on the spot.

With roads in the area blocked by snow, SZ was unable to inform the police about the incident till Saturday afternoon.

The police then shifted FB’s body to King Abdullah hospital in Mansehra for an autopsy and filed a case for murder against SA and his accomplices under Section 302/34.



No arrests have been made so far. The complainant, SZ, also said that he is worried about the safety of his daughter because she may be killed for his defiance of tribal law – refusing to murder his own son for eloping.

Last year, of the 166 cases of violence against women in Hazara division, at least three cases of vani, 14 cases of honour killings, and 17 rapes were reported.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2017.