Another couple falls prey to 'honour killing' in Karachi

KARACHI: A couple was killed in the name of so-called 'honour' on the orders of a jirga in the metropolis' Mominabad area on Monday.  

As many as five suspects, including father and uncle of the deceased man, were apprehended by the local police for their alleged involvement in the killing.

Police said that the woman's body was put in a sack and buried, while the man’s body had not been discovered yet. The law-enforcement authorities suspect that the newly-married couple was killed few weeks back.

The unfortunate couple, 24-year-old Hadi and the woman, had married out of choice which offended their family members who wanted to kill them for bringing disgrace to their honour, the Orangi SP Abid Baloch informed Geo News.

"The parents, brothers of couple live in Nawab Colony. When I went to investigate, they confessed that in the jirga both the parties decided to kill the man and woman," said Qasim Hameed, a policeman.

Police further said the deceased woman's father and brother were on the run. 

"We didn't kill them. Miskeen (woman's father) murdered them. He sent a message to us that your son ran with my daughter again so I have killed them," father of the man told Geo News. 

Authorities started looking out for the couple after the landlord of their house reported to the police about their disappearance and presence of bloodstains in the house.

Police said that the bodies of the couple will be exhumed for medico-legal formalities.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of this incident,  announced to conduct a detailed investigation of the case and has sought a report from Sindh IG Police.

Earlier in September, a teenage couple accused of violating the Pashtun ‘code of honour’ was also killed reportedly by being given electric shocks. The murders were executed by family members on the orders of a jirga of elders of the Mohmand tribe.

The area where this atrocity played out was Ali Brohi Goth, a locality in the suburbs of Karachi that falls with the jurisdiction of the Ibrahim Hyderi police.

As per information garnered from locals and police sources, the wheels of tribal ‘justice’ were set in motion on August 14, the day the country celebrated 70 years of its existence.

The woman, 15-year-old Bakht Taj, daughter of Hikmat Khan, had allegedly attempted to elope with 17-year-old Rehman, son of Muhammad Afzal. Both families belong to the Safi sub-clan of the Mohmand tribe and reside in Ali Brohi Goth.

On Independence Day, Taj disappeared from her house with cash and jewellery. While she stayed at a house in the nearby area of Gulshan-e-Buner, Rehman was to remain at his own home so as to not arouse suspicion.

As Taj’s frantic parents scoured their daughter’s room for any clue to her whereabouts, they soon found a mobile SIM card registered in Rehman’s name. The oversight proved fatal for the teenage couple as the elders managed to track Taj down and brought her home on the same day.