World - Pakistan;Yet another barbaric 'honour killing'

Amir Mir

PAKISTAN: In yet another barbaric incident of honour killing in the Khairpur district of the Sindh Province of Pakistan, a 17- year-old girl was avenged for a crime not committed by her. They made her run in front of hungry ferocious hounds, who eventually tore her apart.

Taslim Solangi was made subject to a horrific death for a property dispute between her family elders. As a settlement, a pack of dogs was set free after her.

According to the Khairpur police which has now moved to lodge a murder case against the accused, although she tried hard to run to save her life, the trained dogs kept mauling at her legs and finally when she fell down exhausted, the beasts tore apart her being.

A council of elders or the jirga had announced this punishment for Taslim after she was accused of having ‘illicit relations’ with one Abdul Qayyum of the same vicinity — Khairpur.

However, subsequent police investigations have revealed a whole new story. The police investigations show that Taslim was asked by her uncle to pressurise her father in handing over all his property to the uncle. Upon her refusal, her father was abducted and a false case of adultery was slathered on Taslim.

She was killed in the most heinous way possible in the presence of her father Gul Sher. Days after the killing, Abdul Qayyum, a wealthy fellow was forcefully made to confess to his having illicit relations with the young girl in front of the jirga, only to justify the honour killing.

Although everyone in the Khairpura area, including the present chief minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah and his daughter a sitting member of the National Assembly Nafeesa Shah, belong to the same constituency and know fully well that the dispute had nothing to do with a love affair but only with property, nothing had been done to protect either the girl or her family. The property now belongs to the killers and rest of Gul Sher’s family have disappeared but no action from the police or the authorities has been taken so far.