LAHORE: A mother who murdered her own daughter and set her alight for marrying the man of her choice has been sentenced to death, officials said Tuesday, in a case that had revolted many in Pakistan.
Zeenat Bibi, aged 16, was doused with kerosene and set alight in June last year in Pakistan’s teeming cultural capital Lahore, a little over a week after she wed 20-year-old motorcycle mechanic Hasan Khan against her family’s wishes.
A judge in an anti-terror court in Lahore sentenced her mother Perveen Bibi to death on murder and terrorism charges, prosecutor Mian Mohammad Tufail told AFP.
She was charged under Pakistan’s terrorism laws rather than newly-reformed criminal legislation against honor killings because of the use of kerosene in the murder, Tufail said.
Bibi also received a 14-year jail term and was fined 1 million rupees ($9,300) under separate counts related to the killing. Her son Mohammad Anees was jailed for life and fined 1.5 million rupees.
Pakistani mother sentenced to death for daughter’s ‘honor killing’
Pakistani mother sentenced to death for daughter’s ‘honor killing’
White House to present plans for Trump’s East Wing ballroom in January
- The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building
PALM BEACH, Florida: The White House will unveil new details on President Donald Trump’s planned East Wing ballroom during a hearing early next month, according to a federal commission tasked with reviewing the project.
The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building, has been challenged in court by preservationists, while Democratic lawmakers have called it an abuse of power and are investigating which donors are supporting it.
The National Capital Planning Commission, chartered by Congress to manage planning for Washington-area federal lands, said on its website that the White House will provide an “information presentation” on plans to rebuild the East Wing during a commission meeting on January 8.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The commission, chaired by a White House aide and onetime personal lawyer to Trump, Will Scharf, has declined to review the demolition of the former East Wing, preparation activities at the site, or potential effects to historic properties, in what would mark the biggest change to the historic property in decades.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress, is suing to halt the construction, arguing that the proposed 90,000 square foot (8,360 square meter) ballroom would dwarf the rest of the White House, at 55,000 square feet.
The judge in the case earlier this month declined to issue a temporary restraining order against work on the project, noting among other things that the size, scale and other specifications had not been finalized. Another hearing is scheduled for next month. The president, a one-time real estate developer, has taken a hands-on role in what he has described as sprucing up the White House and the US capital city ahead of celebrations next year marking the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.
He has also proposed a new grand arch near Washington, while decorating the Oval Office extensively in gold leaf and installing plaques there offering his personal take on his predecessors’ legacies.
The former East Wing was largely demolished in October, with comparatively little public notice or consultation.
In a recent notice posted online, the planning commission said a formal review taking place this coming spring will consider topics including lines of sight, public space and landscapes. Members of the public will be allowed to submit comments or testify during the review, it said.
