KARACHI: A local court in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province remanded a man into police custody to investigate the killing of his 10-year-old daughter who was allegedly stoned to death earlier this month, police said on Monday.
Ali Bux Rind and three other men were arrested by police in the Dadu district on Saturday for the murder of his daughter, Gul Sama, for “hurting the family honor.”
Rind claims that his daughter’s death was accidental. Police, however, have requested the district and sessions judge to constitute a team to conduct a postmortem so that the real cause of the death can be ascertained.
“We have arrested four people, including the girl’s parents, the prayer leader of a mosque and another man,” Senior Superintendent Police Dr. Farrukh Raza told Arab News on Sunday, adding that investigation was underway to identify other culprits and determine if all these individuals acted on the instruction of a jirga that was reportedly convened by influential political leaders in the area.
Raza said police decided to probe the matter after it was reported that a young girl from the Dadu district had been killed in the name of honor.
“Consequently, Maulvi Mumtaz Ali Laghari, who led the girl’s funeral prayer, was located and brought to the police station for questioning,” the official said, adding that the detained cleric helped the police trace the whereabouts of the girl’s parents.
“The parents of the girl claimed it was an accidental death. However, given the sensitivity of the matter, they were taken into custody for further investigation and brought to the police station in Wahi Pandhi District Dadu,” he continued, adding that a criminal case has been registered.
According to the police, Gul Sama died on Nov. 21 or 22.
“An impartial investigation is underway to examine different facets of the incident. We are also investigating if a jirga was involved in all of this,” Raza said.
Meanwhile, the first information report (FIR), a copy of which was shared with Arab News, says that Rind took the help of his relative, Ali Nawaz, and other unknown individuals to mercilessly stone Gul Sama to death.
Maulvi Mumtaz Leghari, who performed the funeral prayer, and a shopkeeper, Taj Muhammad Rustami, who had sold the family the burial shroud, were also named in the FIR.
“Leghari told us he was approached by the relatives of the girl to perform her funeral prayer and arrange the coffin,” Deputy Superintendent Police Pir Bux Chandio told Arab News. “He also claimed that he had asked if the girl was an adult, adding that the people told him she was about eight to 10 years old.”
According to the Honor-Based Violence Awareness Network (HBVAN), almost one-fifth of 5,000 “honor killings” around the globe occur in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 2017 listed 460 cases of reported “honor killings” in which about 376 victims were female.
The case in Sindh resulted in a public outcry. While it remains unclear how the child could “harm” her family’s dignity, calls are mounting on religious scholars to denounce honor killings.
“Religion strongly prohibits and condemns such acts,” said Maulana Mahmud Hasan, a Karachi-based religious scholar. Religious scholars at mosques should use their platform to raise awareness against honor killings and the government should take action to phase out the practice, he told Arab News on Monday.
“The stoning to death of the girl shows that the society still practices the evil pre-Islamic custom. The stoning of a child is horrible and intolerable, and warrants strict action against the culprits,” he said.
Man in Sindh arrested for stoning minor daughter to death
Man in Sindh arrested for stoning minor daughter to death
- Probe on to ascertain if local jirga was involved in 10-year-old’s murder
- One-fifth of world’s “honor killings” take place in Pakistan, statistics show
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
