A woman was axed to death by her husband near Kunri Town area of Umerkot, Sindh, in an apparent case of ‘honour’ killing. The incident took place on Friday.
The victim was identified as Kavita, aged 25, who was a resident of Dadhro Farm and leaves behind a daughter. Her husband, Narain Kolhi, was arrested by the police in a raid.
During the preliminary interrogation, Kolhi confessed to killing his wife, claiming that he killed her because he suspected she was unfaithful. “She has been in illicit relations with one of the men of the same locality,” he claimed in his defence.
Relatives of the murdered woman rejected such claims outright and demanded justice for her.
The decedent’s body was shifted to Taluka Hospital Kunri for an autopsy. At the time of this story’s filing, no FIR has been registered against the accused. If convicted, Kolhi faces a mandatory life sentence of twelve-and-a-half years.
The murder is just one of the nearly 1,000 honour killings which occur in Pakistan each year, according to Human Rights Watch. Mandated sentencing laws against killing in the name of ‘honour’ or ‘izzat’ have been in place federally since 2016, although the crime still persists.
