Lahore: A teenage girl was shot dead for rejecting her cousin's marriage proposal in Pakistan's Punjab province, Dawn reported, citing police on Monday. The 17-year-old girl was killed on Saturday by her cousin in Nankana Sahib district, some 80 km from Lahore.
Police said Javed Iqbal wanted to marry his cousin, but she refused. On Saturday, police said that Iqbal intercepted the cousin on her way to the market. "He forced her to accept his marriage proposal, but she did not budge. On this, he opened fire on her at point blank, killing her on the spot," the police said and added that the suspect has been arrested.
Not the first time
Last year, a 17-year-old Pakistani TikToker, Sana Yousaf, was shot and killed in Islamabad’s G-13 Sector, within the jurisdiction of the Sumbal police station. Initially, it was reported that the social media influencer was killed by an "unknown guest" who had entered the house forcefully.
Later, it was reported that a close relative killed the teenager. Police interrogation revealed that the man sought to marry her and she had rejected the proposal several times.
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The incident has sparked outrage on social media, with many of Sana's followers demanding justice. However, this is not the first case this year involving the murder of a teenage girl influencer in Pakistan.
Earlier last year, ARY News reported that a 15-year-old girl named Hira was shot dead by her father and maternal uncle in Quetta in an alleged case of honour killing over her presence on TikTok. According to the report, the father, Anwarul-Haq, was enraged by his daughter's social media activity and had instructed her to stop posting videos. When she refused, he allegedly conspired with his brother-in-law, Tayyab Ali, to kill her.
Nose chopped off
In a separate incident on Monday, a 23-year-old man's nose was chopped off on Sunday in the Rahim Yar Khan district, some 560 kms from Lahore. Police said five suspects abducted the man for having an affair with the sister of one of the suspects. "After subjecting Riaz to brutal torture, the suspects cut off his nose and left him at the roadside, where some passersby shifted him to hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable," police said. Three people have been arrested in the case.
(With inputs from agency)
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