Lahore, February 2: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called upon the Punjab government to ensure an early and transparent investigation of an alleged incident of honour killing of a young woman in a village of Bahawalpur district.

The young woman, Saima, left her parents house in November and went away to Karachi with a man named Dilawar she wanted to marry as her family wanted her to marry someone else. Saima’s family had took Dilawar’s father to Karachi with them and brought Saima back to Bahawalpur three days later and assured her that she would be married to Dilawar. However, she was confined in her house for the next two months, where she died in unexplained circumstances early on January 22.

In a letter to the Punjab government, HRCP said: ”The family claims that Saima had committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance and for obvious reasons wants that version to be accepted. No report is yet available to determine the cause of death but the doctor who had conducted the post mortem examination says that there were visible marks of torture on her body and that the cause of death could be determined only from findings of a chemical laboratory test report.

HRCP expressed concern over reports that the police were not taking interest in the investigating and one of the rich accused was being pampered by police.

“HRCP apprehends that crucial evidence in the case may be destroyed unless prompt action is taken to investigate the matter properly. We also fear for the safety of the persons who had highlighted the case. They should be afforded adequate protection and an assurance of safety given to any witnesses who may want to come forward. Justice demands that inquiry must be fair and no favour should be shown to the accused,” HRCP said.

Dr Mehdi Hasan

Chairperson