Man guns down mother-in-law for ‘honour’

Victim was taken to hospital where she died

KURIANWALA:

A man allegedly shot and killed his 38-year-old mother-in-law on Wednesday. As per the case filed by Muhammad Zaman, a resident of 76 GB, it was stated that his sister, Nusbat, was allegedly shot and severely injured by her son-in-law, Naveed, on suspicion of her character. She was shifted to Civil Hospital, then later to Allied Hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds. Sadar police returned the body of the deceased to her family after a postmortem.

They subsequently started searching for the accused after registering a case under the provisions of 302/311 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The murder of women, allegedly by their sons-in-law, is not a new phenomenon in Punjab.

In Lahore in February 2022, a man allegedly murdered his mother-in-law by stabbing her before fleeing the scene.

The accused, Mubarak, also allegedly murdered his sister-in-law in the same fashion. Police were trying to ascertain a motive for the act and detain the accused.

A separate incident occurred in June 2011 in Multan, where a man allegedly shot his mother-in-law dead. According to details, the accused was engaged in a property dispute with his mother-in-law. He went to her house, where following an argument he allegedly shot her dead.

The accused’s wife was also killed in the gunfight, and her 20-day-old baby also died due to suffocation when the mother’s body fell on him.

The accused fled the scene, though his brother was detained for questioning.

Honour is also a potential motive for these killings, alongside disputes over property and money.

In February 2012, two bothers allegedly shot their wives and mother-in-law dead in Dera Ghazi Khan.

According to the details, the brothers suspected their wives’ character which led to a major dispute where both wives returned to their parents’ home.

The brothers went to the house and allegedly shot the two wives and their mother-in-law, before fleeing the scene.

One of the two accused was detained while one remained at large.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2022.