Girl slaughtered for free-will marriage

Case registered against father, brother of victim

LODHRAN:

A 20-year-old woman who allegedly eloped to get married was killed by her father and brother.

Police have registered a case against the father and son based on a statement from the victim's mother.

Police said Amina, the mother of the deceased Shahina, and a resident of the Fazilwala area under the Sadar Lodhran police station, filed the complaint.

She stated that her daughter Shahina, aged 20, left home on August 20 and did not return by night.

Later, they learned that Shahina had eloped to marry a man named Rashid.

However, on August 21, relatives pressured them to bring her back.

Amina sent Shahina to stay with relatives in Mouza Kilawala.

On August 21, at sunset, Amina's son, Muhammad Saqib, alias Kala, brought Shahina back home. Around 9pm, Shahina's father, Malik Zaman, and her brother, Mohammad Saqib, took her to a room.

Malik Zaman restrained Shahina while Mohammad Saqib cut her throat with a knife, killing her on the spot.

The Sadar Lodhran Police handed over Shahina's body to her mother after conducting a post-mortem.

A case has been registered against the father and son on Amina's complaint.

The SHO Istaqar Gujjar stated that the accused are currently out on interim bail, and police are actively investigating the case.

DPO Kamran Mumtaz emphasised that no one has the right to take another person's life, and the accused will be brought to justice soon.

Senior Advocate and President of the Grain Market, Tufail Thakur, strongly condemned the brutal murder of a young girl, stating that such heinous acts cannot be tolerated.

He emphasised that the lack of awareness regarding the rights of men and women has led people to create their own misguided codes of honour, resulting in such tragic incidents.

Thakur insisted that law enforcement agencies and courts must take stringent action against these crimes.

He warned that unless the perpetrators are given severe punishments, such incidents will continue to occur.

He highlighted that dozens of innocent girls have been killed in horrifying ways under the pretext of so-called 'honour'.

Advocate Rao Qaiser also expressed his concern, stating, "These incidents drag us into darkness.

On one hand, societies such as the United States, are working day and night in our country for women's rights and their empowerment, while we, on the other hand, continue to allegedly plan and murder our innocent girls under the guise of honour when they express a desire to marry of their own choice."

He recalled a few years ago, a tragic incident in Jalla Arain where an innocent girl was burned and abandoned.