- Area Magistrate Qamar Abbas Tarar supervises exhumation.
- Holy Family Hospital’s Dr Misbah also present at the site.
- Forensic team obtains sample from young girl’s body.
The authorities on Monday exhumed the body of the girl, allegedly a victim of an honour killing in Rawalpindi’s Pir Wadhai area, and carried out the post-mortem as part of the ongoing investigation into the gruesome murder.
The exhumation was carried out under the supervision of Area Magistrate Qamar Abbas Tarar and Holy Family Hospital’s Dr Misbah was also present at the site.
Subsequently, the forensic team obtained samples from the body.
The case involves the murder of a 19-year-old woman, reportedly killed in the name of so-called honour following a jirga verdict, and secretly buried in a local graveyard.
The woman, married to Zia-ur-Rehman, had allegedly left her home on July 11 with gold jewellery, Rs150,000 in cash, and her belongings, according to the FIR registered by the husband on July 21.
He later learned she had married a man named Usman, despite already being married, according to the FIR.
She was believed to have been murdered on July 16 and buried the next day.
Expanding on the ongoing investigation and case details, Rawalpindi’s City Police Officer (CPO), while speaking on Geo News’ programme “Geo Pakistan” said that the police had traced the woman’s murder on the same night of the killing, i.e., July 17.
The victim’s second husband, Usman, later surrendered himself to police with the couple’s Nikahnama featuring July 12 as their marriage date in Muzaffarabad.
Earlier, the girl had also filed a statement before the judicial magistrate and sought protection from the court.
In her statement before the court, the woman claimed that she had willingly married Usman and revealed that her father had passed away, her mother had remarried, and that her first husband had verbally divorced her, according to police sources.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Ilyas, the victim’s father-in-law and Usman’s father, recorded a video statement saying that he and his family live modestly by working as labourers, and he arranged Rs30,000 to 40,000 to help the victim secure court protection.
Four days after the wedding, armed men allegedly entered their home and threatened the family’s lives, Ilyas said in a video statement.
The family later handed the woman back to her relatives after her marriage was finalised. Tragically, they learned two days later of her murder, he said.
