KARACHI, April 12: Murders in the name of honour killing (karo-kari) are still on the rise as 1,305 people including women, children and men were murdered across the nation during 2006, while 262 were victimized during the initial three months of the current year, said a report compiled by a non-governmental organisation, Madadgaar Helpline.

According to figures, since January to December 2006 among total 1,305 cases, 792 were women; 472 were men; 34 were underage girls, and seven were underage boys.

The provincial breakdown of cases shows that Sindh was in the lead with 718 cases, while in Punjab the number of cases was 453, in NWFP 83 and in Balochistan the number of cases was 51.

The breakdown of cases shows that 945 people were murdered on the spot; 181 were declared as karo or kari and threatened to be killed; 158 people were killed in the attacks, and 21 people were injured.

The major cities where most karo-kari cases occurred included Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Lahore and Multan. Among the total, 1,064 cases were registered at various police stations but police did not register FIR for the remaining 241 cases, while culprits had not been arrested in many cases showing a lack of interest on part of the police to provide protection and conduct proper investigation.

In the first quarter of the current year, 262 people were pronounced karo-kari. Out of this total, 110 were male and 131 were female, while ten were minor girls and two minor boys.

Fifty-one culprits were known to the victims; 14 were real brothers; 16 were real fathers; 24 were husbands and 119 culprits are still unknown. Thirty-seven culprits were in-laws and one was an ex-husband.

According to the breakdown of total 1,567 cases of the last 15 months, 508 persons were killed under the allegation of having illicit relationship; 539 persons were murdered after being declared as karo-kari, while 428 people were killed because they married of free will.