GUJRAT: Police on Saturday registered a case over the murder of two sisters who were Spanish nationals by their close kin in village Nothia of Gulliana police precincts near Kharian allegedly over their denial to get visas for their husbands.

The mother of the deceased sisters had reportedly declined to become the complainant in murder case of her daughters and the first information report (FIR) has been lodged on the report of ASI Nadeem of Gulliana police.

The case has been registered against seven nominated suspects, namely Raja Haneef alias Goga, the parental uncle of the women, who was also the father-in-law of Aneesa, her mother-in-law Farzana Haneef, her husband Atiq, Arooj’s husband Hassan, her father-in-law Aurangzaib, the brother of the deceased Shehryar, Qasid Haneef and two unidentified suspects, under various sections.

The sources in the police said District Police Officer Ataur Rehman had directed the police to become a complainant instead of lodging the case on report of a family member of the girls to avoid pardon or reconciliation.

An official of Gujrat police, privy to the investigation, told Dawn the initial investigation had revealed that the deceased women, Arooj (24) and Aneesa (21), were demanding divorce from their cousins as they reportedly wanted to marry with two Pakistanis belonging to Mandi Bahauddin district who were settled in Spain. However, the family did not allow them to do so and brought them to Pakistan where their nikah was registered about a year ago.

A spokesman for Gujrat Police said the autopsy and forensic reports would ascertain whether the women were killed through asphyxiation or by the bullets as torture makes were found around their necks.

The sources said police had detained some suspects in the case; however, the arrests were not being confirmed as the DPO was likely to address a news conference in this regard on Sunday (today).

The deceased were laid to rest in their native graveyard on Saturday morning after police handed the bodies over to their mother after autopsy.

DPO Ataur Rehman, who was posted in Gujrat around a week ago, had earlier investigated a high profile case of Noor Muqaddam in Islamabad.

Police said at least four raiding teams had been constituted that were conducting raids on various locations to arrest the suspects.

On the other hand, the mother of deceased women, who is also in Pakistan, has been quoted as telling the investigators that she tried her best to save her daughters and begged for their lives when they were being tortured by the suspects.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2022