LAHORE: Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif formed a three-member investigation committee to probe the murder of Zeenat, a girl who had married the man of her choice and had been burnt as a result.
According to details, Additional Secretary of the Interior Ministry and a representative of the Punjab Forensic Laboratory will be part of the three-member investigation team, which will be headedby Deputy Commandant Punjab Constabulary Abu Bakr Khuda Bakhsh. CM Punjab had directed the investigation committee to present their report on the murder by the next forty-eight hours.
According to Zeenat's husband Hasan, whom she had married a few days ago, the girl feared for her life after choosing to tie the knot with the man of her choice. Her husband Hasan revealed that he had sent her to visit her family after her safety had been guaranteed by Zeenat's paternal uncle. Zeenat was burned to death and her body was found on Wednesday.
The prime suspect in Zeenat's murder case is her mother, Parveen, who admitted to committing the murder and even went so far as to say that she had no regret for committing the act. After
Honour killings of females who marry by choice take place frequently in the conservative areas of Pakistan. Marriages of choice are taken as acts that bring shame and dishonour to the family.
A couple of days ago, a schoolteacher from Murree named Maria had also been burnt by 5 men after she had denied a marriage proposal of a certain person. The nineteen-year old Maria had been brought to PIMS hospital with 85% burn wounds. Maria succumbed to her wounds and died a day later.