PESHAWAR: A Pakistani court has sentenced three men to life in prison for the murder of women filmed enjoying themselves at a wedding, in a notorious years-old case that spotlighted so-called “honor killings.”
The case in the mountainous northern region of Kohistan has attracted international attention since it first emerged in 2012, when a local cleric was accused of ordering the deaths of male and female guests filmed at a wedding.
Three of the women in the video were murdered, district public prosecutor Attaullah told AFP on Thursday.
Those convicted included Umar Khan, the brother of one murdered woman, and Saier Khan and Sabeer Khan, fathers of the other two, he said.
“The court on Thursday awarded life imprisonment to three men each for murder, while five others were acquitted,” he told AFP.
The defendants’ lawyer Sarfaraz Khan said they would fight the decision in a higher court.
The 2012 video showed the women clapping as a man danced in the deeply conservative mountainous area of Kohistan, 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of the capital Islamabad.
Men and women had allegedly been in the room together, in defiance of the patriarchal notion of “honor” at the heart of strict tribal customs that separate men and women at weddings — though the video does not show them together.
Women have been shot, stabbed, stoned, set alight and strangled for bringing “shame” on their families for everything from refusing marriage proposals to wedding the “wrong” man and helping friends elope.
Men can be victims too, though it is rarer.
A relative of those in the video, Afzal Kohistani, claimed the women in the video had been killed and took the rare step of pushing the case before the media and the justice system.
The Supreme Court investigated, but a fact-finding team met women who were purportedly those shown in the video and ruled they were alive.
One of the members of the fact-finding team, activist Farzana Bari, told AFP Thursday that she had long disagreed with the decision, fearing the women the team met were imposters.
Kohistani also insisted that the women shown to the officials were imposters, and that the death sentences were carried out.
In March this year he was gunned down in the northwestern city of Abbottabad, igniting fury from activists who praised him as a rare example of a man seeking justice in a so-called “honor” killing.
Three more men — Kohistani’s brothers — were later killed by a rival family. A Pakistani court convicted six of their killers in 2014, but their sentence was later overturned.
Pakistan sentences three in infamous wedding video killing
Pakistan sentences three in infamous wedding video killing
- The 2012 video showed women clapping as a man danced in the deeply conservative mountainous area of Kohistan
- A local cleric had allegedly ordered deaths of male and female guests filmed at the wedding
Qatar, Pakistan resolve to boost strategic, economic cooperation at Doha talks
- Both countries urge dialogue on Afghanistan amid renewed border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul
- Discussions focus on bilateral trade and investment, energy, defense, manpower and labor and culture
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to deepen their strategic and economic cooperation during high-level talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Sharif’s office said.
Sharif visited Qatar along with a high-level delegation on the invitation of Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Pakistani premier also held meetings with Qatar’s trade and defense ministers to discuss cooperation in various domains.
The visit came at a time when Pakistan is seeking closer economic engagement with Gulf partners amid its broader push to stabilize the economy and attract investment, while maintaining security and defense cooperation with key regional states.
During their meeting in Doha, PM Sharif and Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international developments, according to the Pakistan prime minister’s office.
“They reaffirmed the strong brotherly relations between Pakistan and Qatar and expressed satisfaction at the growing momentum in political, economic and institutional ties,” Sharif’s office said.
“Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, energy, defense, manpower and labor and culture, with both sides stressing the importance of their task force to accelerate cooperation in all these areas.”
Pakistan and Qatar maintain strong trade and investment ties. In 2022, the office of Qatar’s emir said the Qatar Investment Authority planned to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, targeting sectors including transport, aviation, education, health, media, technology and labor.
Nearly 300,000 Pakistanis live and work in Qatar, according to Pakistan’s foreign office, with many employed in health, education, engineering and public services, as well as construction and transport. The two countries engage through forums such as the Bilateral Political Consultations and the Joint Ministerial Commission.
Sharif said he had productive discussions with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on how the two sides could transform their brotherly ties into mutually beneficial economic relationships.
“We also took stock of the regional situation,” he said on X. “Pakistan and Qatar will continue to work together for peace and stability in the region and beyond.”
DIALOGUE WITH AFGHANISTAN
Earlier, Sharif and Qatar’s Deputy PM Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani discussed the situation in Afghanistan and called for dialogue to support regional stability.
The meeting took place amid renewed tensions after Islamabad carried out airstrikes last week on what it described as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targets inside Afghanistan. Kabul said the strikes killed civilians and vowed to respond to what it called a violation of its sovereignty.
“Regional developments were also discussed, in particular the situation in Iran and Afghanistan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “Both sides emphasized the importance of dialogue, de-escalation and collective efforts to promote peace and stability in the region.”
This was the second time in less than six months that Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan. The last strikes triggered heavy, weeklong clashes between the neighbors along their border before Qatar and Turkiye mediated a ceasefire between them in Oct. last year.
Separately, Sharif held meetings with Qatar’s State Minister for Trade Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed and a delegation of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA), highlighting Pakistan’s investment-friendly reforms.
He invited QBA members to explore opportunities in infrastructure, logistics, energy, agriculture, technology and export-oriented manufacturing, his office said.
