A MAN’S THROAT was slit by relatives of his wife who disapproved of their marriage in the latest so-called “honour killing” to hit Pakistan, police say.
Hundreds of women are murdered by relatives in conservative Muslim Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour, but it is rare for the victim to be a man.
The murder happened at a marketplace in the Punjab city of Burewala on Friday, when Muhammad Irshad, 43, was attacked by his father-in-law and two brothers-in-law, police said.
“The assailants were armed with knives and hatchets and, after inflicting several wounds on Irshad’s body, they slit his throat,” district police chief Ghazi Salahuddin told AFP.
Irshad married Mussarat Bibi, the daughter of a rich local agricultural family, about a year ago and fled as he feared his in-laws would kill him. However, he returned to see his parents, the police chief said.
A manhunt has been launched to find Irshad’s in-laws, who remain at large, he added.
Recent cases
Last week, 16 year-old Zeenat Bibi was killed in Lahore by her mother for marrying a man of her own choice in a case that sparked condemnation throughout the country.
On Thursday, relatives slit the throat of a young mother who was pregnant with her second child after she married against their will in the village of Buttaranwali, north of Punjab provincial capital Lahore.
A film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary short in February.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the “evil” amid publicity for the film, but as yet, no fresh legislation has been tabled.
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