'Honour Killings' in Pakistan and Compliance of ... - Aurat Foundation

levelled against the victim girls and they are never heard, and the
declaration against girls as ‘Kari’ by their parents, husband and other
family members is sufficient to treat them as. ‘Kari’ and once that
pronouncement comes that girl is treated as ‘Kari’. In this part of the
country the girls are being treated as cattle, just like buffaloes and
goats, and the girls have no right in such situations on the pattern of
animals as the animals have no rights. Therefore, such girls who are
being declared ‘Kari’ are not required to be heard in those matters. In
order to prevent such crimes the Courts of Law should have to take
judicial notice while trying such heinous crimes.”
The Justice went on to comment on the procedure and environment of
the court, noting that mother and sisters of the victims seemed to be
under harassment and felt insecure, therefore he directed that the trial
court should ensure that the case is conducted in “an environment of
complete freedom of mind of prosecution witnesses and to provide
legal protection to the prosecution witnesses.”
The spirit displayed in these judgments seems to indicate that given
the opportunity the SHC would potentially provide hard and
appropriately harsh judgments against perpetrators and supporters of
honour killings. While the SHC does not seem to have had the
opportunity to preside over too many cases reaching this stage, it will be
interesting to note whether it carries forward this spirit and translates it
into its decisions and judgments.
Balochistan High Court
As mentioned earlier, there seem to be no reported honour killings cases
in the Balochistan High Court since 2004.
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