Honour killing: Man, two sons gunned down in Charsadda

Residents protested and refused to bury the bodies until police arrest the culprits.

CHARASADDA: A man and his two sons were gunned down in what appeared to be a case of honour killing in Majoki, on the outskirts of Charsadda, on Thursday.

Prang police official Amir Nawaz said the deceased were working in their bakery when they were shot.

Fawad Ali registered a case with the police that his father Gohar Ali, along with his brothers Munsif and Asim were working when the accused Ali Haider, Mushtaq, Jalat, Janay, and Ajab Khan, sons of Muhammad Nabi and Asfandyar, barged inside the bakery and opened fire, killing the father on the spot and severely injuring the brothers.

Fawad added that his brothers died on the way to the hospital, while the accused managed to escape.

Another police official said Muhammad Nabi’s daughter had eloped with Munsif a month ago, a development that Gohar Ali’s family persistently denied.

Eventually Gohar admitted to Muhammad Nabi’s claim and called a jirga to convince Nabi to allow his daughter to stay with her new family. Nabi refused and demanded the girl to be handed over to him and the jirga ended without a solution, said the police officer, adding that this led to the killings.

After the incident, hundreds of residents took the bodies to Farooq-e-Azam Chowk, Charsadda to protest against the killings and demanded the government to arrest the culprits.

A local political leader Jamshed, who was leading the protest, said they would not bury the men until police arrest the accused. Following this, the Charsadda DSP along with Prang SHO spoke to the protesters and assured them the accused will be arrested soon. Protesters then left the site and the bodies were buried.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2014.