JHANG: A man and his wife along with their three daughters and a son were axed while their five siblings were seriously injured, allegedly by their relatives for contracting love marriage over half a century ago, in the jurisdiction of Athara Hazari police station early on Tuesday.

According to police, Ghulam Fatima, a widow of Swabi and Fazal Razzaq of Rawalpindi had contracted love marriage some 55 years ago without the consent of woman’s tribe. The couple had shifted to Jhang and had nine children. Presently, they were living in Malkana Mor locality where Razzaq worked as a labourer.

A few days back, Fazal, Fatima’s son from her first marriage, came to her house to see her and had been staying there since.

Five others seriously injured by attackers over love marriage contracted 55 years ago

According to police, apparently on Monday night Fazal spiked family’s meal with some strong tranquilizer. After eating the meal the whole family fell unconscious.

Fazal, who was then allegedly joined by his five accomplices, axed the couple and their four off-springs -- Rabia, 23, Yasmeen, 20, five-year-old Kainat and 11-year-old son Usman -- to death.

The suspects also seriously injured couple’s five other off-springs -- Shazia, 20, Ibrahim, 6, Ismail, 4, and three-year-old Muhammad Husain, while they cut hands and legs of their 18-year-old daughter Aysha.

The suspects fled the crime scene, while locals came to know about the tragedy in the morning and informed the police. The police took the custody of dead bodies and shifted the injured to the district headquarters hospital.

The police were trying to contact the family members of Razzaq in Rawalpindi for registration of an FIR and burial of the dead.

Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Mumtaz told Dawn the MO of the emergency ward treating the injured as there was no female doctor available.

The MO of the hospital’s trauma centre was trying to shift the injured to Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, instead of giving them emergency treatment.

Sources said the hospital surgeon was not treating the injured because he was running a private clinic.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2014