Woman arrested for murdering daughter who 'married against family's will' as honour killings surge in Pakistan
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.A mother suspected of killing her pregnant daughter for marrying against the wishes of her family has been arrested by police in Pakistan.
The incident marked another attack in a series of so-called "honour killings" in the country.
Local police believe Amina Bibi and her son slit the throat of 22-year-old Muqadas Tofeeq in the village of Butrawala in Punjab province. Ms Tofeeq was the mother of a 10-month-old infant.
It is understood Ms Tofeeq had fallen out with her family following the marriage three years ago. Her husband, Mohammed Tofeeq told CNN she was eight months pregnant at the time and was in a maternity clinic when she was lured back to her parental home, where she was killed on Friday.
Her husband reported the murder.
"They hit her with wooden rods and when that didn't kill her, they slit her throat," Mr Tofeeq told the broadcaster. "I want justice, I beseech the prime minister to help me, I want justice."
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, vowed earlier this year to take a tougher stance on ‘honour killings’. Nearly 1,000 women are killed in Pakistan each year for violating conservative norms on love and marriage.
“This is totally against Islam and anyone who does this must be punished and punished very severely,” Sharif told the Guardian in February. “Changing the law is something that needs to be done at the earliest possibility.”
However, no new laws against the murders have yet been passed.
In another recent incident, another woman and her husband were found tortured and shot dead in Thikriwala, also in the Punjab province. The killings were allegedly perpetrated by relatives of the couple and police have arrested one man in connection with the crime.
In April, a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan revealed a rise in the number of honour killings and recorded more than 900 rapes and sexual assaults in 2015, 279 instances of domestic violence, 143 of burning, 833 kidnappings and 777 suicides and attempted suicides.
It is believed many attacks still go unreported.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments