AP, Islamabad :
Pakistani police Wednesday were looking for four men believed to have killed a couple and their four children as retribution for a perceived “honour crime.”
Police officer Mohammed Aslam said the killings happened Tuesday in the town of Athara Hazari in central Pakistan.
Aslam said the men are believed to have hacked the family to death with axes and knives. One daughter, identified by police as Aisha, survived and relayed what happened to authorities. She and the other bodies were found after a man delivering milk to the house noticed that no one was coming to the door, Aslam said.
Aisha told authorities the killings stemmed from her mother’s first marriage nearly 30 years ago to another man, Aslam said.
Another police officer, Mian Mohammad, said Ghulam Fatima’s son from her first marriage visited the family a few days ago. He was joined on Tuesday by three more men, who the police say helped him with the crime.
The surviving daughter told authorities that the son said he was taking revenge on her for leaving her first husband.
“It is an incident of honor killing,” said Mohammad.
In Pakistan, leaving one’s husband or marrying against a family’s wishes is extremely rare. Such actions are often perceived as crimes against the family’s honor.
Pakistani police Wednesday were looking for four men believed to have killed a couple and their four children as retribution for a perceived “honour crime.”
Police officer Mohammed Aslam said the killings happened Tuesday in the town of Athara Hazari in central Pakistan.
Aslam said the men are believed to have hacked the family to death with axes and knives. One daughter, identified by police as Aisha, survived and relayed what happened to authorities. She and the other bodies were found after a man delivering milk to the house noticed that no one was coming to the door, Aslam said.
Aisha told authorities the killings stemmed from her mother’s first marriage nearly 30 years ago to another man, Aslam said.
Another police officer, Mian Mohammad, said Ghulam Fatima’s son from her first marriage visited the family a few days ago. He was joined on Tuesday by three more men, who the police say helped him with the crime.
The surviving daughter told authorities that the son said he was taking revenge on her for leaving her first husband.
“It is an incident of honor killing,” said Mohammad.
In Pakistan, leaving one’s husband or marrying against a family’s wishes is extremely rare. Such actions are often perceived as crimes against the family’s honor.
