9-year-old allegedly shoots paternal aunt dead for marriage of choice

SARGODHA: A nine-year-old boy allegedly shot dead his paternal aunt for marrying by choice in the city's 104 North village area, police said Tuesday, in what is being termed the latest case of killing over the so-called "honour".

Police claim the minor boy's family taught him how to use a gun to kill his paternal aunt, who had married by choice a decade ago — before he was even born.

Kanwal Parveen, a resident of 104 North village, had married a person of her choosing 10 years ago. However, her action upset her family who did not accept her wedding, and did not have good relations with her, said police.

On September 14, Kanwal's family invited her to celebrate the birth of her nephew at their home where her other nephew, a nine-year-old boy, shot her to death.

Police said the woman was killed in a pre-planned manner and that a first information report (FIR) was registered against both the boy and the two suspects who had allegedly trained him to carry out the killing.

The Saddar police station house officer (SHO), Zafar Shah, said the suspected killer — the minor boy — was probably not even born when Kanwal tied the knot 10 years ago. "It is very likely that his family informed him about his aunt and how she opted to marry by her choice.

"That's why, the boy shot his aunt dead," Shah added, referring to cases of honour-killings in Pakistan, some of which have been similar in the sense that a child was coerced or motivated to kill an elder for a perceived slight to the family's honour.