A newly-wed Pakistani couple who married without the consent of their elders have been killed allegedly on the orders of a jirga, police said today, in the latest honour killing incident in the country.
Abdul Hadi and Hussaini Bibi, who hailed from Kohistan in Sindh province married without permission from their elders about a month and a half ago, Dawn news quoted Mominabad police as saying.
They had rented a house within the jurisdiction of the Mominabad police station earlier this month.
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The murders took place some three days back, but the incident did not come to light earlier as family members of the couple kept the incident a secret.
On November 24, some residents of the area spotted blood around the house that had been rented by the couple and reported it to the police.
The victims' bodies were recovered by police from the Qaimkhani graveyard in Ittehad Town and sent to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Senior Superintendent of Police Orangi Abid Baloch said nine people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder and subsequent burial of a newly wed couple in Karachi on the directives of a jirga, an informal council of elders.
Baloch said the two families as well as the girl's fiancee were involved in the murder, the Express Tribune reported.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah expressed anger over the couple's murder.
"This is Karachi, not a tribal area. How was a jirga held here?" he asked.
Shah directed Inspector General (IG) of Police A D Khawaja to conduct a thorough investigation and present a detailed report of the incident as soon as possible.
He also ordered the IGP to find out how a jirga was able to operate in the city, the report said.
In September, police had exhumed bodies of a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, who had reportedly been electrocuted by their families on the orders of a jirga in Karachi.
Activists say around a thousand Pakistani women fall victims to so-called honour killings every year in which the victims, mostly a woman, are usually killed by a relative for bringing dishonour to the family.
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