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 seeks UK action over ‘incitement to violence’ against top military commander
- Move follows a video that purportedly showed a PTI supporter in Bradford referencing violence against the army chief
- Pakistan’s deputy interior minister says the government has written to the UK, saying the content breaches British law
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Friday the government has written a letter to the United Kingdom to express concern over social media content circulating from British territory, which he said amounts to incitement to violence against the Pakistani state.
Speaking to a local news channel, Chaudhry said the government raised the issue after a video clip on social media purportedly showed a protester of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party criticizing Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and referring to violence against him.
“This is not a political matter, nor is it a question of freedom of expression,” the minister said while speaking to Geo TV. “This is clearly a violation of international law and of Britain’s own laws, including the British Terrorism Act 2006.”
He said the material went beyond political dissent and amounted to incitement to violence, adding that Pakistan had conveyed to British authorities that states are responsible for ensuring that individuals residing on their territory — whether citizens, asylum seekers or others — do not incite rebellion or violence against another sovereign country.
“What is very dangerous is that a very specific act — a car bombing — has been referenced,” he continued. “It has not been generalized.”
A social media post by a Britain-based journalist claimed that the video was recorded during a protest outside Pakistan’s consulate in Bradford, though neither the authenticity of the footage nor the identity of the individual could be independently verified.
Chaudhry said Pakistan’s complaint to the UK was lodged under international law, British law and United Nations principles governing relations between states, stressing that the issue was one of incitement rather than protected speech.
“This is not about freedom of expression. This is about incitement and terrorism, which is against Britain’s own laws,” he said, adding that Islamabad expects British authorities to take action.
Pakistani officials have also previously voiced concerns over social media activity by PTI supporters abroad that they say fuels unrest and hostility toward state institutions.
British authorities have not publicly responded to the letter or Chaudhry’s statement.
PTI has not reacted to either of them as well.
