Man shoots dead 17-yr-old sister for 'honour' in Pakistan

A 17-year-old girl was shot dead by her brother in a suspected case of "honour killing" in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said today.

Samina Bibi's family suspected of her having a relationship with a man in Bahiwal village, some 200 kms from here, senior police officer Mudasar Awan said.

"Her brother Habib had earlier caught her with the boy and thrashed both of them. He warned her that if she does not stop seeing the man, he would kill her," the officer said.

"When Habib came to know that Samina had met the man on Eid, he thrashed her with the help of his father and then shot her dead from a point blank range yesterday," he said.

Both the accused fled the spot. A murder case was registered against them.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, nearly 1,000 women and girls in deeply conservative Pakistan are being murdered every year for allegedly bringing shame on their family.

The rights group says that the women are killed for being accused of having illicit relations and marrying without the family's consent.

Most of the women are killed by their brothers and husbands, the group said.