14-year-old innocent Khushboo Ali, a student of 9th class could not even think that a phone call from her school that she is not doing well in her studies would take her life. Two months back her father Mehrban Ali received complaint that her daughter was weak in studies and killed his own daughter. But in an attempt to avoid justice, he is declaring the murder as a case of ‘honour killing’. The mother of Khushboo told Pakistan Today, on condition of not to be named as after registration of FIR against her husband Mehrban she is being threatened by her in-laws to withdraw the case, “I will not forgive my husband who killed my daughter just because she was not good in her studies.” Providing details of the incident, she said Mehrban Ali went to Khushboo’s school and brought her back home. He told her that he was not going to Khushboo, as she had embarrassed him a lot at the school and he was going to kill her today.
She said then he dragged her to another room and warned her and other kids not to come in where he brutally tortured Khushboo, “Despite his warning, I requested him to leave my daughter but he continued to beat her with an iron rod and eventually tortured her to death,” she said with a chocked voice. She said he came out of the room and told her that he had killed Khushboo and also threatened to kill her too, if she informed anyone about the reality. For saving his skin from police, Mehrban called the Rescue 1122 and told them that his daughter had died in a road accident and a taxi driver had dropped the dead body at their home.
When contacted, Mohammed Imtiaz Ahmed, the national programme manager of SPARC an NGO, said that they were providing legal aid to bereaved mother. He told Pakistan Today that Mehrban had a history of extreme violence against his daughter and wife. He severely tortured his daughter with an iron rod which was always kept at home to be used for the purpose.
“We inquired her wife why did not she make any complaint about his practice, to which she replied that every time after torturing her and Khushboo, he used to apologise, saying he would never ever do it again and also that she should not mention it to anyone, while his wife used to believe him every time,” Imtiaz said. He said it was a routine for Mehrban as other family members, like the grandmother and uncle of the victim, had found her on several occasions almost unconscious and brutally tortured by her father.
While talking about the post-mortem report, he said there were multiple torture marks, including head and every part of her body, which ultimately caused her death. The post-mortem report confirmed that the deceased had several fractures at her skull and other parts of her body.
He lamented that Mehrban, even while he is behind the bars, was still pressurising his wife by calling her as well as by sending his brothers as messengers that she should withdraw the FIR and that he was a changed man now and he would keep her happy for ever. At the same time, he was also threatening her that otherwise he would be released one way or other and she would had face the consequences.
