Police sent to KP to arrest prime suspect in couple’s electrocution

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KARACHI: In the follow up of one of the most gruesome acts of honour killing, police teams were dispatched to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Thursday to arrest the prime suspect accused in the case of a couple’s electrocution in Karachi.

In September, a tribal jirga (council) had ordered the teenage couple´s execution when the families had lodged a case with the influential group of elders constituting the jirga, following the elopement of the couple, bringing shame to the respective families.

The couple was reportedly tied to a wooden bed and electrocuted by family members, according to the police, which also informed that the girl was aged 15 or 16 and the man was around 18 years old.

Moreover, once the DNA reports of the murdered boy and girl are received, the final challan of the case will be issued. The other four accused in the case are in jail on judicial remand after the police arrested them.

“The jirga decided that the girl would be electrocuted by her own father and uncle and the boy by his father and uncle,” police officer Amanullah Marwat told AFP, adding that the families later buried the bodies in secret.

‘Honor killings’ in Pakistan result in hundreds of women being murdered by their families each year after allegedly bringing shame on their families. The previous law on such killings allowed the accused to escape punishment if they were pardoned by members of their family.

But July last year’s honour killing of social media star Qandeel Baloch by her brother reignited calls for reform. Resultantly, the Parliament passed a law which scrapped the ability to forgive the killer, but critics contend some loopholes still exist.