QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Wednesday they had booked a man for killing his 14-year-old daughter, an American citizen, on allegations she had committed blasphemy and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Anwaar-ul-Haq, who was living in New York for the past 28 years, returned with his family to the southwestern Quetta city on Jan. 22 to meet relatives in the city, Station House Officer (SHO) Babar Shahwani of the Gawalmandi Police Station said.
Shahwani said Haq filed a complaint with police on Jan. 27 that unidentified men shot his daughter dead outside their home in Quetta at around 11:00 pm.
“The police commenced initial investigations from the family and we booked her father and uncle who during interrogations confessed to killing Hira,” Shahwani told Arab News.
Zohaib Mohsin, senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for Serious Crimes Investigation Wing Balochistan, told Arab News that Haq brought his daughter outside their home when his brother-in-law, Muhammad Tayyab, shot her multiple times.
“We have confiscated Hira’s mobile phone and sent for forensic which would unfold more aspects of the murder,” Mohsin said.
Shahwani said Haq confessed during interrogation that he killed his daughter and alleged that she stopped believing in Islam and used to make blasphemous remarks, and posted objectionable videos of herself on TikTok.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its religious figures can be sentenced to death. Authorities have yet to carry out such a penalty, although the accusation of blasphemy and opposition to the law can incite mob violence or reprisals.
Mohsin said the investigation so far has revealed that the family objected to Hira’s dressing, lifestyle, social gatherings and relations.
Arab News attempted to contact Hira’s family but they refused to speak to the media.
Every year, hundreds of women in conservative Pakistan are victims of “honor killings,” carried out by relatives professing to be acting in defense of a family’s honor, rights group say, most often in deeply conservative rural areas.
According to an annual report on women’s honor killings in Balochistan issued by the Aurat Foundation (AF), a private group advocating for women’s rights and voicing against the honor killings of women in the impoverished province, 33 women were killed in Balochistan on the name of honor from January to December 2024.
The report also said 212 women were killed in Balochistan in the name of honor during the last five years.
Police in Pakistan’s Quetta book man for killing daughter over alleged blasphemy, posting TikTok videos
https://arab.news/ph6y6
Police in Pakistan’s Quetta book man for killing daughter over alleged blasphemy, posting TikTok videos
- Anwaar-ul-Haq, a resident of New York, brought his family to Quetta this month to meet relatives, say police
- Merely accusations of blasphemy and opposition to its laws can incite violent mob attacks and reprisals
Fire erupts at factory in Karachi export zone, no casualties reported
- Blaze breaks out in Landhi area as firefighters deploy snorkels and water bowsers
- Sindh chief minister seeks detailed report, calls for swift emergency response
KARACHI: A major fire broke out at a factory in Karachi’s Export Processing Zone on Friday, prompting a large-scale response by firefighters as authorities said there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said fire tenders and snorkels were deployed to the site in the Landhi Export Processing Zone, with additional water bowsers brought in to help contain the blaze.
“Another big challenge for our brave firefighters,” he said in a social media post. “Fire has erupted at a factory in Export Processing Zone and our fire tenders and snorkels are present on ground to tackle the situation.”
https://x.com/murtazawahab1/status/2019831802945478804?s=20
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the Karachi commissioner, according to a statement from his office.
He issued emergency instructions to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and fire services, directing authorities to ensure swift rescue operations and safety measures.
The chief minister also instructed officials to ensure immediate assistance to affected workers and their families and ordered a joint investigation by the administration and relevant authorities to determine the cause of the fire.
Fires are common in Karachi’s industrial areas, often blamed on faulty wiring, poor safety compliance and inadequate enforcement of building regulations.
The latest blaze comes weeks after a deadly fire at Gul Plaza Shopping Mall in January killed at least 67 people, intensifying scrutiny of fire safety and emergency preparedness in the city’s commercial and industrial buildings.
