Man stoned to death in Pakistan, honour killing suspected

A 43-year-old man in Punjab province, Pakistan had been stoned to death, in an apparent case of honour killing, according to a media report on May 25.

A passerby spotted the body with multiple injuries lying around a pile of stones under a bridge in Ghourgushti area in Taxila. He informed the police, who later shifted the body to a nearby hospital. During the postmortem, the doctors recovered a stone from his neck, The Nation reported. The man has been identified as Aurangzaib, a native of Mian Dehri village of Ghazi town.

The evidence collected from the crime scene indicate it to be a case of honour killing, the report quoted a police official as saying. Sub-divisional police officer Raja Fayyazul Haq confirmed that the man was stoned to death. More details into the case are awaited. Honour killing is a menace still prevalent in many parts of Pakistan.

Pakistan's National Assembly in October 2016 passed a much-anticipated new law that mandates a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying out an honour killing, and prohibits families of victims from forgiving the killer, a common occurrence in these tragic crimes.