KARACHI: A man killed four female members of his family which included his mother, sister, sister-in-law and niece in the southern port city of Karachi this week, police confirmed on Sunday, adding that the crime had been committed for so-called honor.
According to the copy of a police report seen by Arab News, Muhammad Farooq said he was shocked to find the bodies of his wife, Shamshad Farooq, 60, 21-year-old daughter, Madiha Farooq, 20-year-old daughter-in-law, Ayesha Sameer, 20, and 12-year-old granddaughter Alina Razzaq dead inside his flat in Karachi’s Lea Market area on Friday night.
Police said they questioned the men of the family, who were not at home when the killings were committed. Farooq had ruled out any suspects, saying his family did not have enmity with anyone.
Inspector-General Karachi South Asad Raza told Arab News police interrogated Muhammad Bilal, Farooq’s 25-year-old son, on Saturday after they found a laceration on his hand.
“He later admitted that he killed all the ladies on the pretext of honor,” Raza said. “The killer is a minibus driver by profession, a divorcee and recently returned from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah.”
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, police said Bilal confessed to killing his family members due to rage over their TikTok videos, which he claimed spread “immodesty and shamelessness.”
The police official confirmed they were registering a case against Bilal for the murders.
Many people in conservative Pakistan follow a strict code of “honor,” with women beholden to their male relatives over choices around education, employment and who they can marry.
Hundreds of women are killed by men in Pakistan every year for allegedly breaching this code. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 316 “honor” crimes against women were recorded in the country in 2022.
But many cases go unreported, as families tend to protect the murderers — often male relatives.
According to a 2020 report by the Aurat Foundation, over 11,000 cases of violence against women were reported across Pakistan in 2020. The most common forms of violence were domestic violence (4,775 cases), rape and gang rape (2,297 cases), and murder (1,033 cases).
Karachi man kills four female family members, including mother, for ‘honor’ — police
https://arab.news/parzc
Karachi man kills four female family members, including mother, for ‘honor’ — police
- The four women were found dead with their throats slit in separate rooms in a Karachi apartment on Friday night, says police official
- Many in Pakistan follow strict code of “honor” in which women are beholden to male relatives on choices of education, marriage
Islamabad says Pakistan Saudi Arabia Economic Cooperation Framework initiatives ‘being materialized’
Islamabad says Pakistan Saudi Arabia Economic Cooperation Framework initiatives ‘being materialized’
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agreed to launch framework in October to expand trade, investment ties in priority sectors
- Pakistan views Saudi Arabia as a vital regional ally that has helped it avert macroeconomic crises over the years
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said on Thursday that certain initiatives related to the Pakistan Saudi Arabia Economic Cooperation Framework “are being materialized,” describing the economic partnership between the two countries as “solid, firmly rooted.”
Islamabad and Riyadh agreed to launch an Economic Cooperation Framework in October, as per the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), to expand bilateral trade and investment ties. This decision was taken during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
Sharif’s office had said the framework will see the two countries focus on priority sectors including energy, industry, mining, information technology, tourism, agriculture and food security.
“Pakistan-Saudi economic partnership is solid, firmly rooted,” Tahir Andrabi, the foreign office spokesperson, said during a weekly news briefing. “There were certain initiatives taken during the visit of our prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are being materialized.”
Andrabi said Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Board of Investment are working on “individual investments” between the two countries but did not provide any further details.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb departed for Riyadh on Wednesday to attend the three-day Global Development Finance Conference, where he is expected to present Islamabad’s perspective on climate adaptation and financing.
“During the conference, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will participate in a high-level session on climate adaptation and resilience, where he will join global leaders in discussing how developing countries can secure the capital needed to address climate vulnerabilities,” the Finance Division said in a statement on Wednesday.
Aurangzeb is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials, including leadership of the National Development Fund and the Ministry of Finance, to discuss development financing, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation.
The finance chief will additionally meet Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Riyadh to review ongoing economic diplomacy initiatives.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long enjoyed close ties but have sought to broaden cooperation in recent months.
In September, the two countries signed a security agreement pledging that aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both. The move was widely viewed as formalizing longstanding military cooperation into a binding commitment aimed at bolstering joint deterrence.
The Kingdom also hosts more than 2.5 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the largest source of remittances for Pakistan’s $407 billion economy.
