Girl electrocuted in 'honour killing'
Pakistan
Elders and the family of Saima Bibi, 17, decided after a meeting of a village council, or panchayat, that her punishment for shaming the family should be death, police said.
"There are signs of torture and burns on her neck, back and hands which are most probably caused by electrocution," said the police official, Zahoor Rabbani, from Bahawalpur district in east Pakistan where the alleged killing took place.
Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani took "serious notice" of the "the sad incident of the killing of a girl by electric current on the orders of the panchayat".
He has ordered police to immediately submit a report to his office.
Saima Bibi's death appeared to be what is known as an honour killing.
They are common in rural areas where, under centuries-old tribal customs, getting married without permission of male relatives or having sex outside marriage is deemed a serious slight to the honour of the family or the tribe.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, are killed in Pakistan in the name of "honour" every year, with the majority of victims from poor, rural families.
Pakistan's independent human rights commission said in its latest report that nearly 650 women were killed in that way in 2009.
Talha Nadeem, a doctor in a local hospital, said the cause of Bibi's death had yet to be determined.
A woman is stigmatised as a "kari", or "black woman", if she is accused of having sex outside of marriage. Her killing would be justified under tribal customs.
Pakistan
Elders and the family of Saima Bibi, 17, decided after a meeting of a village council, or panchayat, that her punishment for shaming the family should be death, police said.
"There are signs of torture and burns on her neck, back and hands which are most probably caused by electrocution," said the police official, Zahoor Rabbani, from Bahawalpur district in east Pakistan where the alleged killing took place.
Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani took "serious notice" of the "the sad incident of the killing of a girl by electric current on the orders of the panchayat".
He has ordered police to immediately submit a report to his office.
Saima Bibi's death appeared to be what is known as an honour killing.
They are common in rural areas where, under centuries-old tribal customs, getting married without permission of male relatives or having sex outside marriage is deemed a serious slight to the honour of the family or the tribe.
Hundreds of people, mostly women, are killed in Pakistan in the name of "honour" every year, with the majority of victims from poor, rural families.
Pakistan's independent human rights commission said in its latest report that nearly 650 women were killed in that way in 2009.
Talha Nadeem, a doctor in a local hospital, said the cause of Bibi's death had yet to be determined.
A woman is stigmatised as a "kari", or "black woman", if she is accused of having sex outside of marriage. Her killing would be justified under tribal customs.
