Marriage feud claims 10 lives in Charsadda village

BY: Faiz Muhammad

A man, with the help of his accomplices, killed his fiancée and nine members of her family in a pre-dawn attack in Tangi area on Sunday, four months after murdering his own parents, brother and sister-in-law.

Villagers and police said that Gul Ahmed Syed and his accomplices barged into the house of his uncle Jamal Syed in Tajuddin Mashin Kallay village and started firing indiscriminately.

Jamal, his wife Zar Pari, sons Shah Khalid, Faisal, Irfan and Abu Bakar and daughters Naveeda, Kalsum, Sumeera and Fatima were killed.

Main suspect also killed his parents, brother and sister-in-law
Hazarat Nawab, brother of Jamal, lodged an FIR, nominating Gul Ahmed as prime accused. He told police that after hearing gunshots, he and neighbours rushed to the house of Jamal where they found bullet-riddled bodies lying in a pool of blood.

According to relatives and villagers, Gul Ahmed was engaged to his maternal cousin Naveeda and had asked his parents to arrange his marriage after he obtained a diploma in civil engineering. But his parents told him to wait till getting a job.

They said that Jamal allegedly asked Gul Ahmed to kill his parents because they did not want him to marry his daughter. Gul Ahmed shot dead his father, mother, brother and sister-in-law on Nov 28, 2014 and escaped. He was declared a proclaimed offender but never arrested.

They said that Gul Ahmed asked Jamal to arrange the wedding but the latter kept on delaying it on different pretexts. This enraged Gul Ahmed and he took the extreme step of killing his uncle and his family.

The slain people were laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard in the village. A large number of people attended the funeral.

Meanwhile, a team headed by the DSP of Tangi has been formed to investigate the incident and arrest killers. Local leaders of different political parties and tribal elders have urged police to bring the killers to justice.

AFP adds: Police said they had launched an extensive search, raiding three of Gul Ahmed’s suspected hideouts and tightening security at entry points to the neighbouring tribal region where he might try to seek shelter.

Dawn

Minister asks people to join campaign against child marriages

KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Women Development Rubina Qaimkhani on Tuesday invited activists to join the public awareness campaign launched by the government to sensitise masses about relevance of Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013 for them as well as their children.

Addressing a seminar on Child Marriage Agenda, organised by Women Development Department in coordination with UNICEF, she said the law adopted unanimously by the Provincial Assembly on April 28 last year is in process of meaningful implementation. “We seek active involvement of all stakeholders and with a motive to directly approach the most affected segment are launching first leg of our public awareness campaign in Tharparkar in a week’s time,” the minister said.

“Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child and whoever performs, conducts, directs, brings about or in any way facilitate any child marriage shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment, up to three years, and also liable to fine,” the minister elaborated. Rubina mentioned that Sindh has been noticed as having the highest numbers of Child Marriages, where an estimated 72% of girls get married under the age of 20.

“This practice is not an isolated custom as is prevalent throughout the country with 30% of marriages falling into this category,” she said. The minister said the law has been introduced to serve as a protective legal entity and the government is presently in the process of formulating and finalising the “rules” for its enforcement in consultation with the concerned NGOs and provincial Law Department.

Daily Times

Woman axed to death in Sargodha

SARGODHA: A woman was killed over family dispute in the precincts of Jharvian police station on Thursday. Police said Nousherwan, resident of Jhaverian Town wanted to marry with Naila Bibi but her parents refused his proposal. In a fit of grudge, Nousherwan stormed into the house of Naila Bibi and axed her to death. The body was shifted to a local hospital for autopsy and a case has been registered against the accused.

The News

Man kills married sister over ‘honour’

man slaughters daughter

LAHORE: A man slaughtered his married sister allegedly over her involvement in “questionable activities” in Sanda police precincts on Thursday.

The police said that husband of Shahnaz Bibi, of Fazal Colony, forsook her six months ago allegedly because of her “weak character” and returned to his hometown of Pattoki while Shehnaz started living with her parents.

On Thursday, Shahnaz Bibi’s brother Maratab Ali manhandled her allegedly over her “questionable activities” and later slit open her throat, causing her instant death.

Man lodges intimidation case: The manager of a local pharmaceutical company on Thursday lodged an FIR (first information report) with Naderabad post of South Cantonment police station after receiving life threats from unidentified persons.

Sajjad Hyder, resident of Arifabad, Bedian Road, received threatening letters on ethnic grounds a couple of months ago. Later, some unknown armed men intercepted his car when he was returning home from work and asked him to abstain from his religious activities. The suspects continued chasing Hyder’s car for a while. A couple of days ago, they again abused Sajjad Hyder and gave him life threats. The applicant said that he has been living in the locality for 34 years and has no personal differences with anybody. The police registered the FIR against unidentified suspects.

Daily Times

13 booked for holding jirga

HIKARPUR: PML-F leader Sardar Ghous Bakhsh Mahar and 12 members of his tribe were booked for holding a jirga to settle a dispute over an alleged extra-marital affair that had led to the murder of two women in Wazirabad about two weeks ago.

The jirga was presided over by Sardar Mahar and the 12 suspects, including Ustad Abdullah, Mehboob Ali, Haji Mushtaq Ahmed, Sanaullah, Khalil Ahmed and Mohammad Malook — all members of the Mahar tribe — allegedly took active part in the proceedings.

The FIR (24/2014) was registered on behalf of the state by Lakhi Ghulam Shah SHO Ahmed Ali Khuharro under sections 419, 384, 143, 117 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

DAWN