In the latest case of honour killings in Pakistan, two sisters were killed by their brother on the eve of their weddings in central Punjab province, police said on Saturday.
Senior police officer Mehar Riaz said that 35-year-old Nasir Hussain shot 22-year-old Kosar and 28- year-old Gulzar Bibi on Friday as they prepared to marry the men of their choice, reports the Express Tribune.
He added that Hussain objected to the marriage and wanted his sisters to marry someone within the extended family.
The incident comes days after a British woman of Pakistani origin was allegedly killed by her father and former husband for marrying her second husband against her parents’ wishes.
Samia Shahid, 28, a beautician from Bradford who had gone to visit her family in Pakistan, died this month in the village of Pandori in northern Punjab.
The murders also come days after social media starlet Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death by her brother who said he was “not embarrassed” to have killed her.
Hundreds of women are killed by relatives across Pakistan each year, on the pretext of defending what is seen as family honour.
After mounting pressure to tackle a pattern of crime that claims hundreds of lives in the name of honour, the authorities this month announced that bills aimed at tackling “honour killings” and boosting rape convictions would soon be voted on by parliament.
