The body of a 23-year-old man was found hanging from a tree on the outskirts of Rawalpindi district, police said Saturday.

The family of the deceased, identified as Mubashir, alleges that he was killed for 'honour' by Muneer, who suspected his wife to have been in a relationship with the deceased man.

On the complaint of the deceased man's brother, police have registered a murder case against four men, including Muneer, who are suspected to have fled after killing the man and hanging his body to a tree in Thalla Kalan, on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, on Thursday.

The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Nawaz, told DawnNews that Mubashir was a herder. He said whether the man was poisoned or strangled to death could only be confirmed after reports of his postmortem examination are received. He said police are conducting raids to arrest the suspects.

However, because the man's body was found hanging from a tree, police are also investigating the angle of suicide, he said.

The complaint filed in Chontra Police Station by Mubashir's brother names four suspects.

The brother, Mohammad Iqrar, told police that Muneer had suspected that his wife had relations with Mubashir and he, therefore, murdered him without any investigation or proof.

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

According to Saima Munir, who works for the Aurat Foundation, there has been a 70 per cent increase in honour killings in the past year.