Pakistani man kills wife, daughter over 'honour'

MULTAN - A Pakistani man killed his wife and daughter by pouring kerosene over them and setting them on fire in the latest incident of so-called honour killing in the conservative country, police said yesterday.

Hundreds of women are killed by male relatives in Pakistan every year after being accused of bringing shame on their families, usually for having what are considered unsanctioned relations with men.

In the latest incident, a man identified as Jalil Ahmed Jhabail suspected his daughter of having an affair and accused his wife of failing to stop her, police said.

The man, who had been working in the southern city of Karachi, returned home in Tiba Miani village in the central province of Punjab late last Friday, and, together with two male relatives, assaulted the women.

"They shut both women in a room, poured kerosene over them and set them on fire," a police official said.

The wife, Azeem Mai, 40, died at the scene while the daughter, Shumaila, 17, died of serious burns in hospital, he said.

President Pervez Musharraf has been trying to project Pakistan as a moderate and progressive Muslim nation and his government last year passed a law that prescribes the death penalty for honour killings.

But human rights activists say much more must be done to stamp out the practice, which is particularly common in rural Pakistan where feudal and tribal laws still hold sway.

Jhabail and one of the male relatives had been arrested. The other male relative was still at large, police said.

The men would be tried in a special anti-terrorism court for what are termed "heinous crimes", police said.

Government officials say there were more than 1200 honour killings in 2003 alone.

- REUTERS