Kohat murder case: Four suspects nabbed for ‘honour killing’

KOHAT: Police arrested four, including a prime suspect, on Monday for the murder of Hina Shahnawaz, a young woman from Kohat who was the lifeline for her family.

Shahnawaz’s case gained attention after it was posted on social media. The accountability officer of a non-government organisation (NGO) was killed on February 6, this year, because her cousins’ disapproval of her job.

The 27-year-old woman was the sole bread-winner of her family and taking care her of mother, brother’s widow and child, and sister, whose husband’s committed suicide.

As many as eight suspects were wanted for her murder, of which four were arrested on Monday. The prime suspect, identified as Zulfiqar Ali, was nabbed from Rawalpindi while Shah Alam, Riaz Ali and a policeman, Maisam Ali, were apprehended in Kohat.  

According to Operations SP Tariq Mehmood, the case was one of honour killing. The eight suspects, who are all Shahnawaz’s close relatives, wanted her to stop working for the NGO. However, she kept working regardless. This enraged the suspects and they entered her house and opened fire on her.

The four suspects were remanded into police’s custody by local magistrate for a week. The case was registered by Shahnawaz’s sister, Farheen.

'If a jirga is held to solve the case then the police will itself fight the case and ensure that the suspects are punished', said Mehmood.

Police are conducting raids to apprehend the other four absconding suspects.