Sister of Pakistani woman bludgeoned to death 'also murdered by family'

By Rob Crilly

Pakistani woman murdered by family members outside Lahore high court 'learnt days before her death her sister was victim of honour killing'

The Pakistani woman bludgeoned to death in front of Lahore high court learnt days before she died that her sister was murdered by her family in an "honour killing", it was claimed on Thursday. Farzana Parveen, 25, was killed on Tuesday by more than two dozen attackers, including her brother and father, because she married the man she loved, according to police.

A string of revelations from family members has uncovered years of abuse and murder which had remained secret until the public attack, shining a rare spotlight on the hundreds of honour killing carried out in Pakistan each year. Her stepson Aurangzaib, who uses only one name, said on Thursday that Ms Parveen’s older sister, Rehana, was poisoned by the family four years ago.

“She was married and wanted to live with her husband,” he said. “It was an arranged marriage but later her family developed issues with in-laws of her sister and started demanding her to leave her husband. When she denied doing so, one day the family invited her at their home and poisoned her.”

In a further twist, Ms Parveen’s husband stated on Thursday that he had murdered his first wife to be with her. “I was in love with Farzana and killed my first wife because of this love,” Mohammad Iqbal, 45, told the AFP news agency, adding that he had strangled her.

He reportedly said he did not serve a prison sentence because his son forgave him and Pakistan’s controversial blood-money laws can allow kin to forgive the perpetrators of a crime. The murder of Ms Parveen took place in front of several policemen in broad daylight, but Lahore’s police chief on Thursday hit back at allegations his officers failed to prevent it.

Shafiq Ahmad, the head of Lahore city police, issued a strident defence of his officers, claiming none was present when Ms Parveen was attacked by the male relatives wielding bricks.

“There’s no doubt it was an honour killing,” he said. “She was already married to someone else when she eloped so her second marriage was illegal.”

He also defended his officers, whom he said reached the scene as quickly as possible, only to find the young woman already dead from a blow to the head.

They arrested her father, who promptly admitted killing his daughter for bringing shame on the family. Muhammad Azeem told police that he felt no regret and wanted his daughter dead because she “insulted all of our family by marrying a man without our consent”.

Zohra Yusuf, of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said it was commonplace to shift blame to the victims to enable family members to arrange blood money payments among themselves and escape prosecution. “There is rarely justice for the victims,” she said.

Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan prime minister, on Thursday said he was “furious” over the killing and ordered a full report from the police. “This woman’s murder in presence of police is intolerable,” he said, according to a statement issued by his office.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, added his voice to the condemnation. “There is absolutely no honour in honour killings and I urge the government of Pakistan to do all in its power to eradicate this barbaric practice,” he said. While such “honour killings” are far from rare in Pakistan, the case of Ms Parveen has sparked outrage. No one intervened as the attackers collected bricks from a nearby building site to use as weapons. Mr Iqbal said he had agreed with her father to pay about £500 for the marriage but her father tried to extort him for money before accusing him of kidnapping. “Everything had been OK up to then,” he said.

The couple were on the way to court on Tuesday, so Ms Parveen could make a statement saying she had not been abducted and had married of her own free will, when they were ambushed.

Last year, almost 900 women died in “honour killings”, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.