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A young couple who tried to run away together were electrocuted in an honour killing, Pakistani police believe.

Torture marks and injuries from electric shocks were found on the bodies of the 15-year-old girl and her 17-year-old boyfriend after they were exhumed for post mortems by authorities in Karachi.

Police Surgeon Dr Qarar Ahmed Abbasi told told Pakistani English-language newspaper Dawn that "there were visible signs of electric shock and torture on both bodies”.

The pair are believed to have eloped and fled their homes in August in the hope of having a free-will marriage in defiance of their traditional tribal communities.

But after their families found out tribal elders ordered their ritual killings in order to protect the honour of the tribe.

Zia Ur Rehman, a reporter for The News newspaper, told the BBC a settlement had initially been reached between the two families over the marriage plans but a tribal council, known as a jirga, rejected the agreement and ordered the deaths “as a lesson to others”.

Electrocution is rare in Pakistan but honour killings are said to be on the rise.

Nearly 1,100 women were killed in Pakistan in 2015 by relatives who believed they had dishonoured their families, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.