Abbottabad: 15 suspects held in connection with Ambreen murder case
Police personnel assured to have launched an investigation into the matter.
ABBOTTABAD (Dunya News / AFP) – At least 15 suspects have been arrested in a connection with Ambreen murder case in Abbottabad, reported on Thursday.
According to sources, the victim a 17-year-old Ambreen was killed over the decision of local jirga for supporting the alleged affair of Saima with the boy on April 29. She was strangled to death and then burnt to ashes in a minivan.
A Jirga was held under Pervez supervision, in which it was decided to punish Ambreen and “set an example,” a local told.
Police personnel have stated that as many as 15 people including slain Ambreen’s mother and father were apprehended for further interrogation.
An FIR has also been registered against the jirga members in the case under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act.
The tragic incident had drawn condemnations from all around as Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak and National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights ordered stern action against the culprits.
Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending family "honour", but it is rare to hear of those who facilitate elopements being killed as well.
Pakistan amended its criminal code in 2005 to prevent men who kill female relatives escaping punishment by pardoning themselves as an "heir" of the victim.
But it is left to a judge’s discretion to decide whether to impose a prison sentence when other relatives of the victim forgive the killer -- a loophole which critics say remains exploited.
"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" -- a film telling the story of a rare survivor of an attempted honour killing -- won the Academy Award for best documentary short in February.
Amid publicity for the film, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour killings but no fresh legislation has been tabled since then.
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