Life and liberty: Man, wife killed ‘for free-will marriage’

Girl's father assaulted couple in his brother’s house and shot and killed her and Abdullah, two others were...

BAHAWALNAGAR:

A man and his wife were killed in a Bahawalnagar village on Saturday night allegedly by the woman’s family who had been opposed to the marriage.

Two people were injured in the assault. Abdullah, 22, and his wife Shehnaz, 20, who were both cousins, had eloped over a year ago and married each other in a court.

The couple had returned to live with Abdullah’s family at their home in Orh Ke Shah village after the family endorsed their marriage about six months ago, Abdullah’s father Yousaf told The Express Tribune. On Saturday night, Yousaf said, Shehnaz’s father and his brother Yasin attacked his house with eight accomplices. “They broke in and started firing indiscriminately,” he said. He said Abdullah, Shehnaz, 75-year-old Azizaan Bibi and 58-year-old Nawaz Bibi suffered several bullet wounds. He said the four injured were taken to the Bahawalnagar district headquarters (DHQ) hospital where the couple died. Talking to The Tribune, DHQ medical superintendent Abdur Razaaq described the condition of the remaining injured as critical. Madrassa police have registered an FIR against Yasin, Ahmed Yar and eight unidentified men on a complaint filed by Yousaf. The affected family, however, staged a protest demonstration on Sunday and accused the police of partiality in investigation. The protesters alleged that the station house officer was friends with Yasin’s family and feared that he would not be fair to them. SHO Younus Buttar rejected the allegations and said he had registered a case and directed a team to arrest the suspects. “They had a family dispute. I have already started investigating the matter. It is unfair on their part to accuse me of partiality,” he said.

Yousaf said about three months ago a panchayat had been arranged to settle the matter. “Yasin then agreed to take five kanal agricultural land from me in compensation and not object to the marriage,” he said. However, he added, Yasin backtracked after getting the land.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2012.