KHANEWAL: A 21-year-old girl was murdered in Khanewal on Monday allegedly by her brother because she had refused to give in to her family’s demand to divorce her husband.



Ismat Parveen, a resident of Kot Muhammad Hussain, was killed following her statement before a senior civil judge that she did not want to divorce Javed Ramzan, a neighbour she had wedded in a court a few months ago.



City police have arrested the accused, Nafees.



Parveen’s family had been opposed to the marriage and had earlier filed a kidnapping case against Ramazan with the City police station. SHO Riaz Luther said they had arrested three of Ramazan’s kin but later released them when both families reached a settlement through a panchayat. The panchayat, he said, decided that the girl be handed over to her parents so that the couple could be married ‘properly’.



A family member told The Express Tribune that the girl returned home when she was assured that she would be married to Javed. “When she returned, her parents pressured her to file a divorce case,” he said. He added that when she stated before the senior civil judge that she did not want a divorce, the family again insisted that she go with them and be married ‘properly’.



SHO Luther said they were committed to investigating the case fairly. He said one of the deceased’s relatives, an assistant sub inspector in Khanewal police, had tried hard to get the suspect released so that he could attend the funeral.



He said the ASI even requested the deputy superintendent of police but he refused to release the accused.



The SHO said he suspected that the family would move to withdraw the case. He said this happened frequently in ‘honour killings’. “They have lost a daughter. Why would they want to lose their son now?” he asked.



Parveen’s father, the complainant, refused to discuss the matter.



The SHO said that one way to ansure prosecution was for Ramazan or one of his family members to come forward and register complaint. He said Ramazan had instead gone into hiding since the murder.



An uncle of Ramazan told the Tribune that he had no knowledge of his whereabouts. On whether the family intended to pursue the case, he said only Ramzan could make a decision in that regard. He said the family had tried to claim the body but were prevented by the girl’s family. The body, he said, remained with the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital till Tuesday when her family finally claimed it and buried it.



Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2011.