Domestic violence: 13 killed over family disputes

Eight children among the dead in two separate incidents.

PESHAWAR:

At least 13 people, among them women and children, were killed in two separate incidents of firing in Peshawar on Tuesday.

An Afghan refugee, Abdul Ghafar, killed eight people, including his own wife and in-laws, over a family dispute in the Ghari area in the remits of Khazana police station, a police official told The Express Tribune.

He said that Ghaffar had married a girl in his family and left for London some time after the marriage. There had been little contact between the couple since. However, when he returned to Pakistan he tried to take his wife forcibly to London but his in-laws refused.

Ghaffar failed to convince his in-laws despite repeated attempts.  “On Tuesday Ghaffar again went to his in-laws before dawn to convince them. A brawl ensued and Ghaffar opened fire and killed at least eight people,” the official said.

The dead were identified as Ghaffar’s father-in-law Siddiqullah Khan, his wife Gulona, his daughters Maryam Bibi and Habiba Bibi and his sons Zabiullah Khan, Irfanullah Khan, Rafiullah Khan.

A source told The Express Tribune that Ghaffar was scheduled to leave for London on Tuesday. But police have informed the airport authorities to stop him from flying out. Police have registered an FIR and mounted a manhunt.

In another incident in Islampur Mohalla, a family of five was found dead, police said. A police official at the Kotwali police station told The Express Tribune that Amjad Hussain, his wife Sumera Begum and their three children were among those killed.

A complainant Wajid Hussain, brother of Sumera Begum, told the Kotwali police that his family had no enmity and didn’t want to nominate anyone in the case. However, a source said that Amjad first killed his children and wife and then shot himself dead. The motive for the gruesome ‘homicide’ was not immediately known.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2011.