Kabirwala man stabs teenage fiancée to death after suspecting she owns a phone

Published February 23, 2019
Upon not finding a phone on her, not only did the girl's fiance brutally slit her throat, but also stabbed her several times in her chest and stomach. — AP/File
Upon not finding a phone on her, not only did the girl's fiance brutally slit her throat, but also stabbed her several times in her chest and stomach. — AP/File

A teenage girl was mercilessly stabbed to death allegedly by her fiance in Punjab's Khanewal district on Friday, in what police suspect is a case of 'honour killing'.

According to police, the incident took place in Khanewal's Kabirwala tehsil where the suspect, a paternal cousin of the deceased 16-year-old girl, on the pretext of coming over for a visit, entered her bedroom and demanded that she hand over her mobile phone.

When the girl denied having one, her fiance started searching her frantically. Upon not finding one, not only did he brutally slit her throat, but also stabbed her several times in her chest and stomach, according to police.

Editorial: Rise in ‘honour’ crimes

The two families live next to one another. When the suspect was fleeing, his brother standing outside the houses was alerted by the screams emanating from the girl's house.

He saw a knife in the suspect's hand and moved towards him. The suspect, out of fear of being caught, stabbed his own brother.

The suspect's brother is in a critical condition and has been moved to Multan for treatment, police said.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered by police on a complaint of the girl's father under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Saddar Police Station in Kabirwala.

The girl's body was sent to Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) hospital in Kabirwala for a post-mortem examination.

The suspect remains at large but Kabirwala DSP Maher Waseem said a team has been formed to track him down. He was confident that by Saturday morning, the suspect would be in police custody.

Honour killings continue despite law

Scores of people in Pakistan — an overwhelming majority of them being women — are still being murdered by relatives for bringing 'shame' on their family, more than two years since new laws came into force aimed at stemming the menace of 'honour killings'.

In October 2016, a joint sitting of both houses of parliament passed two key pro-women bills that had been pending assent for a long time.

The move at that time was cautiously hailed by women's rights activists. More than two years on, however, lawyers and activists say honour killings are still occurring at an alarming pace.

At least 280 such murders were recorded by the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan from October 2016 to June 2017 ─ a figure believed to be understated and incomplete.

The legislation mandates life imprisonment for honour killings, but whether a murder can be defined as a crime of honour is left to the judge's discretion.

That means the culprits can simply claim another motive and still be pardoned, according to Dr Farzana Bari, a widely respected activist.

Opinion

Editorial

The Peca problem
Updated 15 Feb, 2025

The Peca problem

The fight for fundamental freedoms is not the media’s alone, but one that concerns every citizen.
Miners in danger
15 Feb, 2025

Miners in danger

YESTERDAY’S devastating terrorist attack in Harnai, which killed at least 11 coal miners and injured seven others,...
Solar panels scam
15 Feb, 2025

Solar panels scam

THE scam involving over-invoicing to the tune of more than Rs69bn in the import of solar panels raises many ...
Dangerous times
Updated 14 Feb, 2025

Dangerous times

Pakistan accounted for six journalist killings in 2024, of which three were deliberately murdered, according to the CPJ.
Difficult target
14 Feb, 2025

Difficult target

A ONE-two punch delivered by an unforeseen, sharp dip in inflation and an extremely slim base of taxpayers is...
Amazing show
14 Feb, 2025

Amazing show

PAKISTAN’S ability to turn it up at the flick of a switch remains uninhibited. The latest show came in...