In another case of 'honour' killing, a nine-year-old boy shot dead her aunt who married out of her own free will in Sargodha.
"Can't get worse than this......Nine years old kid shot and killed aunt for marrying of her own choice in Sargodha. Was trained by family members for one year how to kill her aunt," journalist Mubashir Zaidi wrote on Twitter. The journalists said the kid was trained by 'family members for one year how to kill her aunt'.
In a landmark judgement concerning ‘honour killing’ cases, the Supreme Court has said that the word ‘ghairat’ must not be used to describe killings in the name of ‘honour’ as murder is ‘never honourbale and it should not be described as such’.
In a verdict authored by SC Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the top court said: “It will help deter such killings if the term ghairat is not used to describe them.”
In a report published by Express Tribune, the court said that by using the term ghairat, the murdered hopes to provide legitimacy to his actions, but there is no ‘honour’ in such killings.
“It may also elevate the murderer’s social status with those not familiar with what Almighty Allah Commands in the Holy Qur’an. This is unfortunate, more so because there is no honour in such killings,” said the SC judge.
The judgement also questioned the translation of the word ghairat as ‘honour’. According to the judge, the word ghairat does not have an English equivalent, saying a more appropriate translation of ghairat would be ‘arrogance’ and the one with such trait is an ‘arrogant’ person.
“For Muslims, the Holy Qur’an is the word of God. Killing a person is abhorrent and a grave sin. The Holy Qur’an also does not mandate the punishment of death for the offence of adultery. If the petitioner suspected his wife of infidelity he should have followed the path prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and the law of Pakistan to resolve the matter.”
In May 2019, at least 12 cases of ‘honour’ killings were reported in Pakistan in just 15 days.
The Guardian had cited several cases in which women were killed by their relatives in Pakistan during the past two weeks over ‘honour’. Among the cases was the case of a woman who was shot dead by her son, brother and brother-in-law in Lahore for leaving her husband taking refuge in a friend’s house.
Police had said that they found the body of Arooj Shahzad a day after she had come to the police station seeking help because she feared her family members would harm her. “Shahzad’s killing was the 12th in a fortnight linked to “honour” recorded by the Pakistan authorities,” The Guardian had said.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), over 1,500 such cases were registered in a span of two years, from 2016 to 2018. From 2014 to 2016, HRCP reported, 1,267 cases of ‘honour’ killing were reported in the country.
Earlier this week, four individuals were killed over a love marriage-related dispute at Khairpur Tamewali on Bahawalnagar Road, 40 kilometres away from Bahawalpur on Sunday, while in another incident, a husband killed his wife over a dispute.
Can't get worse than this......Nine years old kid shot and killed aunt for marrying of her own choice in Sargodha. Was trained by family members for one year how to kill her aunt.
— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) September 22, 2020
"Can't get worse than this......Nine years old kid shot and killed aunt for marrying of her own choice in Sargodha. Was trained by family members for one year how to kill her aunt," journalist Mubashir Zaidi wrote on Twitter. The journalists said the kid was trained by 'family members for one year how to kill her aunt'.
No 'honour' in murder
In a landmark judgement concerning ‘honour killing’ cases, the Supreme Court has said that the word ‘ghairat’ must not be used to describe killings in the name of ‘honour’ as murder is ‘never honourbale and it should not be described as such’.
In a verdict authored by SC Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the top court said: “It will help deter such killings if the term ghairat is not used to describe them.”
In a report published by Express Tribune, the court said that by using the term ghairat, the murdered hopes to provide legitimacy to his actions, but there is no ‘honour’ in such killings.
“It may also elevate the murderer’s social status with those not familiar with what Almighty Allah Commands in the Holy Qur’an. This is unfortunate, more so because there is no honour in such killings,” said the SC judge.
The judgement also questioned the translation of the word ghairat as ‘honour’. According to the judge, the word ghairat does not have an English equivalent, saying a more appropriate translation of ghairat would be ‘arrogance’ and the one with such trait is an ‘arrogant’ person.
“For Muslims, the Holy Qur’an is the word of God. Killing a person is abhorrent and a grave sin. The Holy Qur’an also does not mandate the punishment of death for the offence of adultery. If the petitioner suspected his wife of infidelity he should have followed the path prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and the law of Pakistan to resolve the matter.”
12 murders in 15 days:
In May 2019, at least 12 cases of ‘honour’ killings were reported in Pakistan in just 15 days.
The Guardian had cited several cases in which women were killed by their relatives in Pakistan during the past two weeks over ‘honour’. Among the cases was the case of a woman who was shot dead by her son, brother and brother-in-law in Lahore for leaving her husband taking refuge in a friend’s house.
Police had said that they found the body of Arooj Shahzad a day after she had come to the police station seeking help because she feared her family members would harm her. “Shahzad’s killing was the 12th in a fortnight linked to “honour” recorded by the Pakistan authorities,” The Guardian had said.
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), over 1,500 such cases were registered in a span of two years, from 2016 to 2018. From 2014 to 2016, HRCP reported, 1,267 cases of ‘honour’ killing were reported in the country.
Earlier this week, four individuals were killed over a love marriage-related dispute at Khairpur Tamewali on Bahawalnagar Road, 40 kilometres away from Bahawalpur on Sunday, while in another incident, a husband killed his wife over a dispute.