Islamabad, Sep 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) At least 201 people, including 180 women and 21 men, have been victims of honour killings in Pakistan's Swat since 2018, a report has mentioned citing data from 'The Awakening', an NGO which has monitored incidents of honour killings, domestic disputes, sexual violence and suicides in the district.
"Police figures tell a different story: the District Police Office Swat recorded only 117 cases in the same period — 85 women and 32 men — with 174 arrests and 88 cases registered. The gap between 201 and 117 is not a rounding difference. Survivors, activists, and officials describe a system where family pressure, weak evidence, and social stigma collapse prosecutions before they begin, and where deaths disguised as suicide never enter the official count at all," Shahzad Naveed wrote in leading Pakistani daily 'The Friday Times'.
Advocate and Focal Person for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG), Samreen Hakeem, said that only Section 302 is applied when the relatives of the victims do not give full evidence to the police. She also highlighted the involvement of the victim's own family in the majority of honour killing incidents, the newspaper reported.
She further said, "In most incidents, it is the victim’s own family members who are involved. When legal action is initiated, other family members reach a settlement with the accused or do not present evidence in court."
Hakeem mentioned that people who witnessed an honour killing testify in court in favour of the accused instead of the victim. "In Pashtun society, killings are carried out in the name of honour, and then the case is dropped because it is considered a source of shame. Their stance is that the sooner the case ends, the better," The Friday Times quoted Hakeem as saying.
In May, a young couple, who got married of their own choice, were shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Malir area of Pakistan's Karachi.
Police said Nadia (20) and Najeebullah (25) were killed when unidentified assailants opened fire on their vehicle on May 25, in what seemed to be a case of honour killing, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
According to officials, Nadia's father Aslam filed a kidnapping case at the police station on May 19 after the couple got married of their own choice. Later, police arrested Najeebullah's father in connection with the case.
On May 25, the couple appeared before a court in Malir and submitted their marriage certificate. After the documents were submitted in court, the case was disposed of, and Najeebullah's father was released, Geo News reported.
Police said the couple, after court proceedings, were heading to the NADRA office in Saudabad when their vehicle was attacked. Officials said that two other people, including the driver, were in the vehicle and managed to escape during the attack. Police said that armed men were tracking the couple since they left the court and opened fire at the vehicle.
Source: IANS
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