Pakistan village battles 'honour killings'

A resident of Salanwali village is trying to enlist the support of others to put an end to the practice of honour killing.

A Pakistan village, which was fast gaining the dubious distinction of being a hotbed of "honour killings", with four women murdered since 2002 for alleged affairs, wants to wash off its stains.

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A resident of Salanwali village who saw a victim's small children cry at her grave is trying to enlist the support of others to put an end to the practice of honour killing.

The last killing in the village took place in April 2005. The victim had run out pleading for her life but the villagers were too afraid to interfere in what was a family matter, reported Online news agency.

Her father, brother and a cousin dragged her back to her "home" where they electrocuted her at night.

Early next morning, the village mosque announced that Razia Bibi, wife of Gulsher Khan and daughter of Muhammad Khan, had died. The mother of three, who left behind a two-month-old infant, allegedly had extramarital relations with a villager.

The second incident dates back to two years ago. When Amina Khan, 16, refused to marry against her will, her uncles injected her with poison. Many villagers were witness to the crime and she was buried in a nearby graveyard.

The third incident too occurred less than two and a half years ago. Ghulam Fatima, 20, was poisoned by her cousin Zafar Khan and brother-in-law Liaqat Khan.

The villagers were said to have been silent spectators to the murder, hatched so that her husband could take a second wife.

Shahnaz Bibi, 20, who was poisoned to death by her father-in-law Ahmad Khan, is the fourth victim of honour killings in the village.

"We now want an end to this brutality. We will not sit idle until the culprits of honour killing are brought to justice," says Mukhtar Ahmad, a resident of the village.

Along with nine others, Ahmad has filed an application with the station house officer of Shah Niqdar.

He says the sight of Razia's children wailing at her grave a few days ago had motivated him into action.

Along with some other villagers, Ahmad is keeping his fingers crossed that honour killings will soon be a thing of the past.

According to a report, 1,015 such killings took place in Pakistan last year.