Journalist implicated in murder case, being hounded
KARACHI: A journalist has allegedly been implicated in an honour killing case by a powerful tribe to punish him for raising the issue of domestic abuse and murder of a woman who had been declared Kari. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) the victim, Sikandar Bhutto, is in hiding and the alleged killers of the woman are raiding his houses and those of his relatives to find and kill him.
The police have refused to file a criminal case against the perpetrators on the application of the victim, an AHRC statement said. It adds that the Sindh High Court has directed the high-ranking police officials to act on the murder threats to the journalist and report to it, but police have failed to comply with the court order. According to the AHRC statement the woman’s killers are from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the tribal chief has remained chief of the union council on the party’s ticket, and used police influence against the people of the district.
Shahnaz Bhutto, 28, had allegedly been murdered by her husband, Rana Bhutto, and brother-in-law on December 7, 2012, in the name of “honour”. Statedly, she was killed after her husband acquired her property, however, she was later accused of having an illicit relationship with Sikandar Bhutto, a journalist and human rights defender. After the murder, which was exposed by Sikander Bhutto, the murderers announced that Sikander had an illicit relationship with Shahnaz and he is liable to Karo, which means he has to be killed. Sikander Bhutto, a media representative of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, is a prominent journalist of Ghotki district.
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