LARKANA, Dec 21: General secretary, Amnesty International, Pakistan, Iqbal Detho on Sunday held the government responsible for ever-increasing murders committed on the pretext of Karo-kari.

“The government’s insensitivity towards implementing the laws increases the incidents of violence against women,” he said in his lecture on violence against women.

The programme, organized by the Knowledge Centre, was presided over by human rights activist advocate Kalpina Devi.

The AI general secretary said despite the prevailing situation not a single district government had passed a resolution against Karo-Kari.

He was critical of NGOs and said they had never visited areas where the fiendish incidents of Karo-kari were multiplying every day.

Mr Detho said violence against women had emerged as the world problem. “Women around the world are braving growing violence”, he said.

He said in Rwanda rape was used as weapon of war while in Russia around 14,000 women were killed every year. The reports of growing torture and violence in US was on high, the AI chief lamented.

Ms Devi said 18 women were killed in Sindh in Nov 2003 alone. She said not only men but women were also torturing women.

She said women in their society were divorced and tortured on giving birth to girls.

Former president, Liberal Forum, Ammnaullah Shaikh, said it was the loose grip of the government that encouraged the incidence of violence against women.

He said the strong escaped the laws while the poor were always trapped in.

Director, Knowledge Centre, Mukhtiar Samo, rights activist Zulfiqar Rajpar, Abdul Rasool Chandio, Qurban Solangi, Sufi Imdad, Gulzar Suhag and others also spoke on the occasion.