An article published by the Inter Press News Service Agency (IPN) and written by Zofeen Ebrahim provides updates on the July 2008 live burial of five Pakistani women. Three of the victims were girls ages 16 to 18 who were asking permission to choose their future husbands — a right which is legalized in Pakistan. The two other women killed were adult relatives of two of the girls. The September 15 article by Ebrahim reports that prominent human rights activists and organizations are pressuring the Pakistani government to act against the perpetrator of the crime. The man who allegedly ordered the killings, Abdul Sattar Umrani, is the brother of a provincial minister who is part of the ruling party in Pakistan. According to the article the issue of investigation and prosecution was raised in parliament but faced denouncement by a number of the senators. One senator attributed the killings to local customs, which should not be “unnecessarily politicised”. The article reports that notable organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Asian Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan are demanding accountability for the perpetrator of such a horrendous crime. However, the article suggests that it is unlikely that the government will pursue legal action against a perpetrator that has such close connections to influential members of the ruling party.
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Compiled from: Ebrahim, Zofeen. “Pakistan: Live Burial of Women—Activists Demand Action”, Inter Press News Service Agency, 15 September, 2008.