Police arrest three more in Farzana Parveen case

Arrested suspects include victim's brothers, Zahid Ali and Ghulam Ali, and alleged former husband Mazhar Iqbal

LAHORE: The three more men have been arrested for the brutal murder of a woman bludgeoned to death outside the Lahore High Court by family members for marrying against their wishes, the police said on Wednesday.

Farzana Parveen was battered to death last week outside the court by more than two dozen attackers, including numerous relatives, armed with bricks.

"We have arrested two brothers of Farzana, Zahid Ali and Ghulam Ali, and her alleged former husband Mazhar Iqbal in this case," Chaudhry Shafiq, a senior police official, told AFP. "They will be produced before a court tomorrow."

The killing sparked outrage because of its brazen and brutal nature and claims that the police did nothing to save Parveen, who was three months' pregnant.

The US branded the incident "heinous" and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanded immediate action to catch the killers.

With the latest arrests there are 13 in police custody, including Parveen's father Mohammad Azeem.

He was detained at the scene of the attack, and a court last Saturday remanded him in custody for a further seven days.

Parveen's husband Mohammad Iqbal claims more than two dozen people were responsible for her killing.

Police said they would present a detailed report on the killing to the High Court on Thursday.