Kohat murder: Police suggest killer wanted to marry victim

KOHAT: Social media in Pakistan has been enraged over the murder of Hina Shahnawaz, a young woman from Kohat who was the lifeline for her family and was murdered only because her paternal cousin did not approve of her profession – she was an NGO worker.

Police on Thursday booked two men in connection with the murder, that according to DPO Kohat took place on Sunday.

SP Investigation Sanaullah confirmed to Geo News that the killer’s father and brother had been taken into custody but Mehboob who shot the victim four times and killed her was still absconding.

Hina Shahnawaz, a 27 year Master of Philosophy was the only breadwinner in her household. It was a responsibility she took on more out of necessity than by choice during her father’s final years as he battled with cancer.

A few months after she took on the responsibility, her father passed away and if the burden on her shoulders wasn’t heavy enough, after a petty squabble her brother was murdered and his widow and children also became Hina’s responsibility.

If that wasn’t enough Hina’s sister’s husband committed suicide, SP Investigation Sanullah told Geo.tv, and another burden was added on her shoulder.

Killed not working, but for refusing marriage proposal

While sources claim the murder took place because Hina’s family and the conservative society she lived in frowned upon her working for an NGO; speaking to Geo.tv via telephone SP Sanaullah said that Hina's paternal cousin who murdered her wanted to marry her – a match that Hina did not agree on as the proposer was only a Matric graduate.

Whatever the actual reason for her murder, Hina in her life was no less than a heroine, who supported her entire family until the day she was brutally killed.