Last Updated on October 18, 2021, 5:34 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Pakistan: A father in Pakistan is suspected of murdering his two daughters and four sons by setting his house on fire because one of the women married against his wishes, police said.
Police are pursuing Manzoor Hussain after he allegedly set fire to the house shared by sisters Fauzia Bibi and Khurshid Mai in a village in central Pakistan’s Muzaffargargh district, police official Abdul Majeed told by telephone.
Mai’s husband also died in the fire, Majeed told.
According to the official, Bibi had married Mehboob Ahmad about 18 months ago, confronting her father’s will in a so-called love match, rather than an arranged marriage.
“The event is the result of the rivalry among the two families for love marriage,” Majeed stated.
Hussain, the father he is looking for, lives in a nearby town, he added.
According to his statement to officers, Bibi’s husband, Ahmad, told police that he was not home at the time of the fire and that he had found the house on fire when he returned from job early in the morning.
Ahmad told his four-month-old son had died, along with Mai’s three children, ages 2, 6 and 13.
According to the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, hundreds of women in Pakistan are murdered by relatives every year for marrying without permission or against their family’s desires.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
