Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif orders action on stoning

MT NEWS: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described the stoning to death of a woman by her family in front of a Lahore court as “totally unacceptable”.

Farzana Parveen, who was three months pregnant, was pelted with bricks and bludgeoned by relatives furious because she married against their wishes.
Her husband told the BBC that police simply stood by during the attack.
Lahore’s police chief has denied this and said Ms Parveen had been killed by the time police arrived at the scene.
There are hundreds of so-called “honour killings” in Pakistan each year.
This incident has prompted particular outrage as it took place in daylight while police and members of the public reportedly stood by and did nothing to save her.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered the chief minister of Punjab province to take “immediate action” and submit a report by Thursday evening.
‘Inhuman’
“They watched Farzana being killed and did nothing,” her husband, Muhammad Iqbal, told the BBC.
Mr Iqbal described the police as “shameful” and “inhuman” for their failure to stop the attack.
“We were shouting for help, but nobody listened. One of my relatives took off his clothes to capture police attention but they didn’t intervene,” he added.
Another witness told Reuters news agency that police ignored the attack.
“Policemen were standing outside the High Court, but no policeman came forward. In spite of the noise, no policeman took the trouble of coming forward to save her,” the witness, who was not named, said.
However, Lahore police chief Shafique Ahmad questioned Mr Iqbal’s credibility, and told the BBC that police did not stand by while the attack occurred.
Police were a distance away, and were told by a member of the public that a scuffle was taking place outside the court, Mr Ahmad said.
By the time police arrived, Ms Parveen had been killed after being hit on the head with a brick, he added.
Arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply conservative communities.
Ms Parveen’s father later surrendered to police but other relatives who took part in the attack are still free.
“We arrested a few of them and others are currently being investigated,” local police chief Mujahid Hussain said.
Ms Parveen came from a small town outside the city of Lahore. According to reports, her family were furious because she decided to marry Mr Iqbal instead of a man they had chosen.
Her relatives then filed a case for abduction against Mr Iqbal at the High Court.