Pakistan: 17-year-old girl killed by brother after she elopes with boy

Lahore, October 9

In a suspected case of honour killing, a 17-year-old girl was shot dead allegedly by his brother after she eloped with a boy in a village in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The girl was in love with a boy from her village in Sattukatla, a low-income thickly populated area, and recently she eloped with him.

A council of the elderly people of the area ordered the family of the boy to ensure safe return of the girl to her family, police said.

The boy’s family told the council that he wanted to marry the girl, but the council insisted that first the girl should be handed over to the family.

On Thursday, when the boy’s family dropped the girl at her house, her brother, Mohsin, allegedly fired gun shots at her after heated arguments.

She died on the spot and the brother fled after committing the crime.

“We are investigating whether the girl’s father is also involved in her murder as no one from the family is willing to become complainant in the FIR against the alleged killer,” the official said.

Honour killings are common in Pakistan. According to Human Rights Watch, over 1,000 women are killed annually in Pakistan over unacceptable amorous relationships, defiance of physical or cyber-gendered spaces, brazenness in dressing and language or perceived immorality. PTI