Four cousins shot dead in Pakistan over ‘family honour’ on orders of village council, police say
Bodies of victims found in remote mountain area
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Four cousins were shot dead over "family honour" on the orders of a village council, police in Pakistan have said.
The bodies of the victims – two men and two women aged between 18 and 21 – were found on Friday near their remote mountain village in the north-west of Pakistan.
District police chief Raja Abdus Saboor said one man has been arrested for his involvement in suspected "honour killings".
But police officers are still searching for others involved in the murders near Peshawar.
More than 1,000 women are killed every year in the conservative, Muslim-majority country over suspicions they engaged in relationships that went against the family's wishes.
Perceived damage to a family's “honour” can involve eloping and fraternising with men.
In 2012, five women were killed in the same region for cheering male dancers during a wedding.
The "honour killings" are often carried out by relatives and in most cases the victims are women.
A spokesperson for Pakistan's High Commission in London disputed the fact that killing was ordered by the village council and insisted it was an "individual act by the victims' blood relatives".
"The Village Councils do not have the jurisdiction to mete out criminal punishments," they told The Independent in a statement. "The Sindh High Court has already declared the Jirga system illegal. In the past, members of local councils have been arrested for intruding on the legal jurisdiction of Pakistani courts."
They added: "The two accused have already been arrested. Moreover, this is the first time that a post-mortem has been conducted on female victims of this region."
With additional reporting by AP
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments