Pakistan – Multiple Women in Same Family – Victims of Alleged Honor Killings – AHRC

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: URGENT APPEAL

1 February
2007
—————————————————————-

UA-033-2007: PAKISTAN: Four women allegedly murdered
and one man injured by relatives on the pretext of honor
killing

PAKISTAN: Honor killing; violence against women; Rule of
law

—————————————————————-

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new
automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, in this
appeal, we only could include e-mail addresses of a few of the
Pakistan authorities in this case. We encourage you to send your appeal
letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the
Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank
you.]

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned to
learn of another brutal “honor killing” case reported yet again from the
Shikarpur district in the Sindh Province of Pakistan on 29 November 2006. Four
women of the same family were killed and one man, also of the same family, was
injured by the hands of relatives in the so-called name of honor. The incident
took place just fourteen days after the Government of Pakistan enacted the
Women’s Protection Bill in order to provide relief and protection to women
against the misuse and abuse of laws against premarital and extramarital sex.
The incident was immediately reported to the local police but no arrest was made
so far. Even though AHRC has repeatedly issued several honor killing cases, the
Sindh provincial government as well as the Government of Pakistan has not taken
any serious action to abolish this brutal practice. Your urgent action is
required to have the case rightly brought before the Anti-Terrorism Court and to
pressure the local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the case
as well as to quickly arrest the perpetrators. Please also call for the
government of Pakistan, especially the state government of Sindh to take strong
and decisive action to eliminate honor killings once and for all.

CASE DETAILS:

The AHRC was informed by the Human Rights Education Forum
(HREF), a local human rights organization in Sindh province, that four women of
the same family were brutally killed by nine relatives on the pretext of honor
killings on 29 November 2006. The four killed women are Ms. Sahzadi (35), the
wife of Mr. Muhammad Ramzan, Ms. Safia (22), the wife of Mr. Bashir Ahmed, Ms.
Naseema (30), the wife of Gul Bahar and daughter of Mr. Shafi Muhammad and Ms.
Naseema (27), the daughter of Ayob (unmarried). The man wounded is Mr. Manthar
(25). All of them are of Mahar tribe and siblings each other residing Abdu
village, Lakhi Ghulam Shah town, Shikarpur district, Sindh Province, Pakistan.

The fact-finding team of the HREF discovered that the real
number of perpetrators is fifteen; the remaining six persons, unnamed here and
elsewhere, are so influential within the community that the complainant, the
villagers, and the police alike dare not openly point them out.

According to Mr. Gul Bahar, the husband of Ms. Naseema and
brother of all the other victims, on the morning of 29 November 2006, his sister
Ms. Safia came to his home on a usual visit to see her parents. All the victims
and the witnesses including Mr. Gul Bahar were thereby together in the home
having breakfast.

At around 9:00am, suddenly armed men including Mr. Shafi
Muhammad, the father of Ms. Naseema, Mr. Bashir Ahmed, the husband of Ms. Safia,
Mr. Ghulam Qadir, the cousin of the victims, and relatives of the victims namely
Mr. Hazoor Bux, Mr. Nazeer Ahmed, Mr. Dadoo Pandhi, Mr. Javed, Mr. Ali Hassan
and Mr. Noor Hassan broke into the house and began abusing the women victims,
accusing them of having had illicit relations with the persons from the adjacent
Village Noro. The alleged perpetrators claimed that the victims have brought
shame to not only family members but the whole community. Then they instructed
Mr. Gul Bahar to kill the victims as they belong to his family. Mr. Gul Bahar
refused and pleaded on behalf of his wife and his sisters, whereupon the alleged
perpetrators became infuriated and began abusing him.

Thereafter, Mr. Bashir Ahmed together with Ghulam Qadir fired
upon his wife Ms. Safia, both with single barrel guns, and she fell to the
ground. Mr. Hazoor Bux and Mr. Nazeer Ahmed also fired upon their relative Ms.
Sahzadi, who is mother of eight children, with single barrel guns, and she fell
to the ground. Mr. Javed and Mr. Ali Hassan, one with a single barrel and one
with a double barrel gun, fired upon their relative Ms. Naseema (unmarried), who
fell to the ground. Mr. Dadoo Pandhi also fired upon Mr. Gul Bahar’s wife Ms.
Naseema with his gun.

Seeing his three sisters and one sister-in-law quavering on the
ground, Mr. Gul Bahar’s brother Mr. Manthar moved to fight the alleged
perpetrators, whereupon Mr. Noor Hassan fired upon him with an automatic rifle;
Manthar also fell to the ground.

All of the alleged perpetrators then departed the scene, firing
indiscriminately. Meanwhile, the sounds of bullets drew the villagers to the
house, but none could prevent the perpetrators who held weapons in their hands.
After the perpetrators fled, Mr. Gul Bahar and the villagers saw that Ms.
Sahzadi incurred injuries on her stomach, left hand, right breast, right side of
her back, and skull so that her brain was spilling out; Ms. Safia incurred
injuries on her right breast; Ms. Naseema incurred injuries on her backbone and
left cheek; another Ms. Naseema (unmarried) incurred injuries on the left side
of her stomach, left breast, left cheek, left hand and left arm muscles. All
were bleeding profusely and died. Mr. Gul Bahar also saw that his brother Mr.
Manthar incurred juries on his right leg.

According to the fact-finding investigation carried out by the
HREF, the victims were innocent and had not been involved in illicit sexual
relations with anybody. However, according to Mr. Gul Bahar, a month before the
killings, the women victims had gone to the adjacent city of Sukkur to shop;
there, a Sub Inspector of the same tribe, named Mr. Masood Rasool Mahar,
allegedly arrested and snapped pornographic photographs of them. Afterward, the
said Sub Inspector allegedly blackmailed Mr. Shafi Muhammad, one of the
perpetrators, with these photographs. It is reported that Mr. Shafi Muhammad
hence told the father of the women victims to kill them, but the latter had
refused to do so. On the morning of 29 November 2006, Mr. Shafi Muhammad found
an opportunity to kill the women because most of the males of the family were
out of home. Mr. Shafi Muhammad told the media and the HREF staff that he and
his accomplices had to prevent the honor of their family from
collapsing.

At around 11:30am on the same day, Mr. Gul Bahar appeared before
the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Chak police station and lodged the First
Information Report (FIR) No.39/06 against the alleged perpetrators under
sections 302, 324, 148 & 149 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The father of
four of the victims told the HREF that they had nominated 16 persons in the FIR
but the police shortened the list to only 8 persons. Ironically the main suspect
Mr. Shafi Muhammad was not mentioned in the FIR. No arrest has been made thus
far.

The case is to be brought before the Court of First Civil Judge
and Judicial Magistrate of the Shikarpur District, but the HREF and other civil
society organizations are pushing to have it heard at the Anti-Terrorism Court
(ATC), which will rule judiciously in favor of the victims and their family. To
this effect, the HREF has mobilized NGOs to protest against this brutal honour
killings on the International Human Rights Day on 10 December 2006. Still,
greater international pressure is needed.

ADDITIOANL COMMENTS:

Though the Government of Pakistan has passed the Women’s
Protection Ordinance 2006, which may prove as a strong mechanism to tackle this
case, there still exist some technical deficiencies, which may profit the
perpetrators. For example, there is a provision for a compromise between the
concerned parties in the current ordinance under which cases may be dropped, if
parties reach compromise. The same situation occurred under the Qisas and Diyat
Ordinance in which cases were dropped due to so-called compromise, often
unwillingly agreed upon by the complainant due to feudal pressures. This is why
the civil society organizations are rallying to have the case brought before the
Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC).

The practice of honour killings continues to occur with alarming
frequency in Pakistan, mainly in Sindh Province. Honor killings often occur on
the pretext of maintaining honor. The male relatives who commit the murders are
rarely prosecuted in traditional communities. It appears that any action, real
or fabricated, if deemed by the family as compromising their honor, may be
considered a valid reason to commit murder. While illegal according to national
laws and inconsistent with Islamic doctrine in both the Koran and Sharia, the
lack of consistent positive action by Pakistani law enforcement agencies and the
seemingly commonplace belief in the practice of honor killings, facilitate this
inhuman practice.

The AHRC requires the local authorities to conduct a thorough
investigation into this murder. We ask you to send a letter or make a phone call
to the Regional Police Officer (RPD), Sukkur and officer of the DPO
Investigation Department – Shikarpur District and demand speedy and thorough
investigation of this case. The contact information of these officers is given
below. AHRC also requests the above case to be taken before the Anti-Terrorism
Court (ATC). Please support us in making this request.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax
or email to following addresses and express your concern about this serious
case. Demand speedy and thorough investigation and quick arrest of the
perpetrators.

To support this appeal, please click:

http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UA-033-2007

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: Four women allegedly murdered and one man
injured by relatives on the pretext of honor killing

Name of Victims:     
1) Ms.
Sahzadi (35), wife of Muhammad Ramzan, of Mahar tribe, 8 children
2) Ms.
Safia (22), wife of Bashir, of Mahar tribe, 3 children,
3) Ms. Naseema (30),
wife of Gul Bahar, of Mahar tribe, 4 children, daughter of the accused No.
1
4) Ms. Naseema (27), daughter of Ayob, of Mahar tribe, unmarried
5) Mr.
Manthar (25), son of Ayob, of Mahar tribe, unmarried (WOUNDED)
Victims No. 1,
2, 4, and 5 are siblings. All are residents of Abdu village, Lakhi Ghulam Shah
town, Shikarpur district, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Alleged
Perpetrators identified:
1) Mr. Shafi Muhammad, of Mahar tribe,
father of Victim No. 3 and maternal uncle of Victims No. 1, 2, 4 and 5, main
culprit, although not nominated in the FIR (First Information Report), guilty of
the crime according to The HERF fact-finding investigation
2) Mr. Noor
Hassan, son of Mor
3) Mr. Bashir, son of Shafi Muhammad, husband of the
Victim No. 2
4) Mr. Ghulam Qadir, son of Soomar, cousin of the victims
5)
Mr. Hazoor Bux, son of Shahzado, relative of the victims
6) Mr. Nazeer Ahmed,
son of Mulan Qasim, relative of the victims
7) Mr. Dadoo Pandhi, son of Mulan
Qasim, relative of the victims
8) Mr. Javed son of Rano, relative of the
victim
9) Mr. Ali Hassan son of Khair Muhammad, relative of the
victims
All are of the Mahar tribe and residents of Abdu village, Lakhi
Ghulam Shah town, Shikarpur district, Sindh Province, Pakistan.

Complainant: Mr. Gul Bahar, son of Mhammad Ayoob, of Mahar
tribe, husband of Victim No. 3 and brother of victims No.1, 2, 4 and 5

Eye witnesses: 
1) Mr. Mumtaz Ali, son of Muhammad
Ayob
2) Mr. Manthar Ali (Victim No. 5, WOUNDED), son of Mohammad Ayob
Mahar,
Both of Mahar tribe, and brothers of the complainant and victims (No.
1, 2, 4, and 5)
Date of Incident: Around 9:00am on 29
November 2006
Case Reported on: 29 November 2006, 11:30 am at Chak police
station (refer to: FIR no. 39/06 u/s 302, 324, 148 & 149 of
PPC)
Place of Incident: Complainant’s house in Abdu
village, Lakhi Ghulam Shah town, Shikarpur district, Sindh Province, Pakistan

I have learned of yet another honor killing that happened yet
again in the Shkarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan.

According to the information I received, at around 9:00am on 29
November 2006, just fourteen days after the Government of Pakistan enacted the
Women’s Protection Bill in order to provide relief and protection to women
against the misuse and abuse of laws against premarital and extramarital sex,
sixteen men, eight of whose names appear in the First Information Report (FIR)
at the Chak police station, broke into the home of Mr. Gul Bahar and family in
Abdu village, resulting in four cases of murder and one case of injury.

I was also informed that allegedly led by Mr. Shafi Muhammad,
who is the father of one victim and uncle of the remaining four and whose name
is among those kept safe from the FIR, these intruders accused the four women
victims of having had illicit relations with persons from the adjacent Village
Noro. The alleged perpetrators claimed that the victims have brought shame to
not only family members but the whole community. Then they instructed Mr. Mr.
Gul Bahar, the complainant, to kill the victims as they belong to his family.
When the complainant refused and pleaded on behalf of his wife and his sisters,
the alleged perpetrators became infuriated and began abusing the complainant.

Thereafter, Mr. Bashir Ahmed (Perpetrator No. 3), together with
Mr. Ghulam Qadir (Perpetrator No. 4), fired upon his wife Ms. Safia (Victim No.
2); Mr. Hazoor Bux (Perpetrator No. 5) and Mr. Nazeer Ahmed (Perpetrator No. 6),
fired upon their relative Ms. Sahzadi (Victim No. 1), mother of eight children;
Mr. Javed (Perpetrator No. 8) and Mr. Ali Hassan (Perpetrator No. 9) fired upon
their relative Ms. Naseema (Victim No. 4); Mr. Dadoo Pandhi (Perpetrator No. 7),
fired upon the complainant’s wife Ms. Naseema (Victim No.3). All four of these
women bled profusely and died. Seeing his three sisters and one sister-in-law
quavering on the ground, the complainant’s brother Mr. Manthar (Victim No. 5)
moved to fight the alleged perpetrators, whereupon Mr. Noor Hassan (perpetrator
No. 2) fired upon him, injuring his right leg.

I was also informed by a local human rights group that that
there is no concrete evidence to prove that the victims had been involved in
illicit sexual relations with anybody. According to the complainant, a month
before the killings, the women victims had gone to the adjacent city of Sukkur
where a Sub-Inspector of the same tribe, named Mr. Masood Rasool Mahar, arrested
and snapped pornographic photographs of them. Afterward, this Sub Inspector
allegedly blackmailed Mr. Shafi Muhammad (perpetrator No. 1) with these
photographs. I was also informed that Mr. Shafi Muhammad hence told the father
of the women victims to kill them, but the latter had refused to do so, prior to
these brutal killings.

Honor killings are illegal according to national laws and
inconsistent with Islamic doctrine in both the Koran and Sharia. Moreover, the
Women’s Protection Bill, newly passed by the Government of Pakistan on 15
November 2006, with the aim to stop the persecution of women and the denial of
their basic human rights and freedoms, particularly on the basis of false
accusation of premarital or extramarital sex, expressly states: “Whoever brings
or levels or gives evidence of false charge of fornication against any person,
shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years
and shall also be liable to fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees” (Act XLV of
1860, Section 496C). The Government of Pakistan must not neglect to hastily and
appropriately address the perpetrators’ direct challenge to their new
legislation. The murder of the above women and injury of the man should be
thoroughly investigated and perpetrators justly prosecuted under law.

The Women’s Protection Bill also states: “Whoever kidnaps, or
abducts any person in order that such person may be subjected, or may be so
disposed of as to be put in danger of being subjected, to the unnatural lust of
any person, or knowing it to be likely that such person will be so subjected or
disposed of, shall be punished with death or rigorous imprisonment for a term
which may extend to twenty-five years, and shall also be liable to fine” (Act
XLV of 1860, Section 367A). Sub-Inspector Mr. Masood Rasool Mahar, who allegedly
arrested and took pornographic photographs of the women victims, should also be
investigated and prosecuted under law, if found guilty before the
court.

The Government of Pakistan has declared honor killings illegal
and yet they continue in alarming number, particularly in the Shikarpur district
of the Sindh Province, due to the lack of consistent positive action by
Pakistani law enforcement agencies. How many women have to be sacrificed until
the Government takes genuine action to abolish the practice of honor killing?

I strongly urge you to conduct a speedy and thorough
investigation of this case and to bring the perpetrators to justice before the
law. Furthermore, I request that the case be brought before the Anti-Terrorism
Court in order to ensure a just trial, one that is not weighed against the
victims. The practice of honor killings must end, and the silence that
perpetuates the practice must be broken.

Thank you for your attention.

————————-

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President’s
Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or
1835
E-mail: (please see – < http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and
Human Rights
S Block Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN

Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

3. Mr. Justice Sabih Uddin
Chief Justice of Sindh High
Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax:
+92-21-9213220
Email: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk 

4. Mr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh

Governor House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9201201-3

5. Mr. Jahangeer Mirza
Provincial Police Officer- Sindh
Police
Central Police Office
Karachi
Sindh province
PAKISTAN

Tel: +92 21 9212626-7
Fax: +92 21 9212051

6. Mr. Muhammad Bachal Sangri
Regional Police Officer

Sukkur Region
Airport Road Sukkur
Sindh province
PAKISTAN
Tel:
+92 71 30547, 30248
Fax: +92 71 31824

7. Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights

Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 3464
Fax: + 92 51
9203119

8. Mr. Mazhar Nawaz Shaikh
District Police Officer- Shikarpur

Police Head Quarters Shikarpur
Sindh province
PAKISTAN
Tel:
+92-761-515077, 512309
Fax 92-761-512369

9. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel:
+41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN)

Thank You

ahrchk@ahrchk.org

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission