NAROWAL: A 20-year-old girl was shot dead allegedly for getting married against the wishes of her family.

Misbah Maqbool, a resident of Aino Bajwa village on the outskirts of Narowal, had married a fellow villager, Usman, in court on Nov 4, 2020, that infuriated her mother and brothers.

On Jan 18, Misbah’s brother Shahid Shehzad convened a panchayat of local influentials that reconciled the two sides.

According to a written agreement, Misbah would go back to her family. If she commits suicide or takes any other drastic step against the decision, her family would be held responsible, it added. Misbah was then handed over to her brothers.

The couple, however, rejected the panchayat’s decision and on Wednesday, Usman filed a petition against it in the court of the additional district and sessions judge for his wife’s recovery. Misbah’s family got enraged and allegedly shot her dead.

They dumped her body in the local graveyard and fled away.

Locals Feroze Din, Farman Ali and Hafizan Bibi alleged the girl was pregnant and had been killed for ‘honour’, adding the local police was aware of the whole incident for three months. The panchayat members also knew the girl could be killed, they claimed.

A first information report of Misbah’s murder had been registered at Nadoke police station on the application of Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Akhtar.

The SHO said Misbah’s family had fled the scene after the murder. Usman and his family had also moved to an undisclosed location after the incident.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Muhammad Jamil said five suspects had been arrested in the murder case. He said strict action would be taken against the culprits as per law. Police had collected all the evidence and statements, he added.

CYLINDER BLAST: A gas cylinder exploded while refilling in Alipur Syedan village near Narowal, causing a huge fire.

The roof of the cylinder shop collapsed due to the explosion while other cylinders in the shop also caught fire and exploded. Shopkeeper Muhammad Shahbaz escaped unhurt.

A Rescue 1122 fire team reached the spot and put out the blaze. Local police and Civil Defense personnel also rushed to the spot.

District Civil Defense Officer Asim Riaz Wahla seized goods from the cylinder shop over illegal decanting.

A case was registered against shopkeeper Shahbaz and Qila Ahmedabad police was conducting raids to arrest him.

ACCIDENT: A couple was killed when a bus collided with a motorcycle on Shakargarh Road.

The bus travelling from Shakargarh near Kartarpur stop on Narowal-Shakargarh Road hit a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction, killing motorcyclist Muhammad Hussain on the spot and injuring his wife, Bushra.

A Rescue 1122 team rushed to the spot and rushed Bushra to the DHQ hospital, who was referred to Lahore due to her critical condition. However, she died on the way.

Norkot police started an investigation.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2021