Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday ordered authorities in Punjab to take stern and immediate action against the killers of a 25-year-old pregnant woman who was brutally stoned to death for marrying the man of her choice.
Farzana Parveen was attacked on Tuesday outside the Lahore High Court by nearly 20 members of her family, including her father and brothers, with sticks and bricks.
The brutal murder of Farzana has shocked the rights bodies and common people.
“I am directing the Chief Minister (Shahbaz Sharif) to take immediate action and report must be submitted by this evening to my office,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“This crime is totally unacceptable and must be dealt with in accordance with law promptly,” it said.
Punjab is ruled by Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) under his younger brother Shahbaz.
Farzana was three months pregnant and had gone to the court to testify in defence of her husband Muhammad Iqbal (45) accused of kidnapping her and forcing her to marry him.
The couple survived the attack during the first hearing of the case on May 12.
Police failed to provide the protection to the victim and did nothing to save her when she was beaten to death, according to eye witnesses accounts.
The murder has been condemned by Pakistan and international human rights groups.
Honour killing is common crime in Pakistan and every years hundreds of women are killed over matrimonial issues.
Around 900 women were killed in Pakistan last year by their families in honour killings, according to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a private organisation.
Convictions in such case are almost nil as in most of the cases the accused are relatives of the victims and they are pardoned under the local laws.
