A woman who had married a man of her own free will was shot dead by her brother outside the Lahore High Court's (LHC) Multan bench on Tuesday, said police.

According to police officials, Kulsoom, who belonged to Punjab's Rajanpur area, had contracted a love marriage with Rafaqat a few months earlier. The girl's family had filed a case against her marriage at the Multan registry of LHC.

However, when the couple arrived at the court to attend the hearing on Tuesday, Kulsoom's 17-year-old brother allegedly opened fire on them near the court's main gate.

Kulsoom, who was shot in the head, died on the spot while her husband sustained serious injuries, according to officials, who are calling the attack "an act of honour killing".

A lawyer was also injured in the shooting. He was shifted to Multan's Nishtar Hospital in a critical condition.

Kulsoom's body was shifted to the hospital for post-mortem. Her brother, the alleged killer, was arrested from the scene and the weapon used in the attack was seized.

Police also collected evidence from the site of the incident.

Hundreds of women are murdered every year in Pakistan, often by their own relatives, for going against their families' wishes in matters of love and marriage.

The perpetrators of so-called honour killings often walk free because they can seek forgiveness for the crime from another family member.

The Aurat Foundation’s annual report of 2016 showed 7,852 cases of violence against women.