Family who stoned to death Pakistani woman also murdered her sister in an 'honour killing'

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Farzana Parveen was attacked by 20 family members outside Lahore court

The 25-year-old had married Mohammad Iqbal against her family's wishes

Today it emerged family members will be tried in an anti-terrorism court

Minister wants the maximum punishments to be available to prosecutors



Mr Iqbal revealed Farzana's older sister also died in an 'honour killing'



He claimed that Rehana Parveen was poisoned by angry family members



The family of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was stoned to death in broad daylight because she married without permission are to be tried in an anti-terrorism court.

Farzana Parveen, 25, was attacked with bricks by 20 family members on the steps of Lahore court because she 'illegally' married Mohammad Iqbal - with police reportedly looking on doing nothing.

Today it emerged Farzana's family will be tried in an anti-terrorism in the city after Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province, ordered the maximum punishments must be an option for all those accused of the honour killing.



Yesterday Farzana's husband made the shock confession that he had killed his first wife in order to marry her. He also revealed that Farzana's older sister Rehana was murdered by her family in a separate honour killing.

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Grief: Sitting beside his late wife's grave in the small Pakistani village of Chak today, Mr Iqbal vowed to fight for justice. He said the people who stoned Farzana to death to 'die in pain'

Mourning: Mohammad Iqbal places flowers on the grave of his wife Farzana Parveen, who was beaten to death with bricks by her father and other family members for marrying without permission

Torment: Mohammad Iqbal was on his way to court with his 25-year-old wife when they were attacked by a group of her relatives who objected to their marriage. During the assault she was hit on the head and died

25-year-old Farzana was on her way to court with her husband on Tuesday when they were attacked by a group of her relatives who objected to her marriage.



During the assault she was hit on the head with bricks from a nearby construction site and died.

The shocking case has focused attention on violence against women in Pakistan as well as the country's legal system.

Sitting beside his late wife's grave in the small village of Chak today, Mr Iqbal said he hoped Farzana's killers 'die in pain' and vowed to fight for justice.

He also claimed that the same family members had previously poisoned Farzana's sister Rehana Parvana in a separate honour killing.



Nayab Haider Rizvi, spokesman for the Lahore police force, today said that four men had been arrested late last night in a village in the Nankana district in connection with Farzana's death.



Officers have already arrested the woman's father and say he has confessed to the killing. They are looking for two of her brothers.



Meanwhile in Lahore's High Court earlier in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered that those accused of Farzana's murder be tried in an anti-terrorism court.

He also issued instructions to the provincial police chief to ensure maximum punishment to all the accused involved in this tragic incident.

Support: Relatives of Mohammad Iqbal offer him condolences as they pray for his wife Farzana Parveen, who was beaten to death with bricks

Faith: Mohammad Iqbal prays alongside relatives for his wife Farzana Parveen

Deaths: Yesterday Mr Iqbal (background) made the shock confession that he had killed his first wife in order to marry Farzana, whose picture he holds during yesterday's funeral service

Authorities confirmed Mr Iqbal's own confession that he killed his first wife in 2009 in order to marry Farzana. But the said the case had been dropped after the victim's family forgave him.

Under Pakistani law, those charged with a slaying can see their criminal case dropped if family members of the deceased forgive them or accept so-called "blood money" offerings over the crime.

Hundreds of women in conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan are murdered each year in so-called 'honor killings' by their husbands or male relatives over alleged sexual transgressions seen as bringing shame to the family.

Activists say those who commit such crimes are often acquitted or given light sentences.



Earlier Mr Iqbal berated the police for refusing to save his late wife.

He said that police did nothing during the 15 minutes the violence lasted outside Lahore High Court.



'I begged them to help us but they said, this is not our duty... I took off my shirt [to show humility] and begged them to save her,' he said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has demanded to know why police apparently stood by, his spokesman said today.



Sharif had taken notice of the 'brutal killing' in the presence of police, his press office said in a statement, adding that a 'totally unacceptable' crime had to be dealt with promptly by law.

'I am directing the chief minister to take immediate action and a report must be submitted by this evening to my office,' it said, quoting Sharif.

Farzana Parveen, 25, who was three months pregnant, was killed by nearly 20 members of the woman's family, including her father and brothers in Lahore on Tuesday

Mohammad Iqbal sits next to his wife Farzana's body in an ambulance outside a morgue in Lahore city centre

Last night Farzana's body was buried in the presence of some 100 mourners from her husband's family at around 2 a.m. in a village graveyard in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province.

Mr Iqbal said his family had chosen to bury her at night because of the gruesome state of her remains.



Police initially said Farzana had been stoned, but said today that relatives had swung bricks, not thrown them. All the suspects, except the father, who has been detained, initially disappeared.

A police officer on Tuesday quoted the father as saying it had been an honour killing.



The 25-year-old had offended her family by marrying Iqbal instead of a cousin selected for her.



Muhammad Aurangzeb, Farzana's 20-year-old stepson, described how one relative had tried to shoot her, then grabbed her head scarf, causing her to fall over.



While a member of Iqbal's party wrestled the gun away, a female cousin grabbed a brick and hit Farzana with it, he said.



'She was screaming and crying 'don't kill me, we will give you money',' said Iqbal. He said he tried to save her but the mob of more than 20 beat him back.



At one point, six people were beating her with bricks as she screamed, he said, and he and his stepson begged police to help.



Finally she stopped screaming.



Mustafa Kharal, lawyer of Farzana Parveen, shows the area where she was killed in Lahore

Mustafa Kharal shows her marriage certificate in Lahore. The 25-year-old had offended her family by marrying Iqbal instead of a cousin selected for her

The attack happened near the gate of the heavily guarded court, the two men said, on one of the busiest roads in Lahore.



The couple had been due to testify there that morning that their marriage was genuine in response to a false charge of kidnapping brought by Farzana's family.



It was not the first time her family had tried to kill the woman, said her lawyer, Rai Ghulan Mustafa.



On May 12, seven of her relatives had tried to force their way into his office, where she was sitting,



he said, but his colleagues had fought them off.



Later they attacked her near a police station.



Officers intervened and held the attackers for an hour before releasing them without charge, he said.



'She was afraid of being killed,' Mustafa said.

The case is the latest honour killing in Pakistan to outrage the world.



'I do not even wish to use the phrase honour killing,' said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a statement in Geneva.

Pakistani human rights activists chant slogans during a protest in Islamabad today

A Pakistani human rights activists hold placards during a protest in Islamabad today

Pakistan's Prime Minister demanded 'immediate action' over the brutal murder

'There is not the faintest vestige of honour in killing a woman in this way.'

But for two days, the attack met with silence from Pakistani officials.



Most national media outlets gave little attention to the story. Honour killings are so common they usually only rate a paragraph or two.



Women have been mutilated and killed for wearing jeans, looking out of windows, singing or giving birth to girls.