Pakistan man denounces 'honour killing' death of teenage daughter
16-year-old girl's body set ablaze in vehicle after she helped couple elope
Shock across Pakistan at the murder of a 16-year-old girl accused of helping a young couple run away and elope has turned to anger over the role played by a jirga, or tribal council, which police allege carried out the punishment.
Jirgas are often convened, particularly in conservative rural areas, to settle local disputes especially between poor families, and although they operate outside the law, their decisions are often honoured and ignored by authorities.
In the case of Ambreen Riasat, who was drugged, killed and burned by a group of men in a so-called "honour killing" in the village of Makol, 50 kilometres from the capital Islamabad, locals questioned whether the jirga was even genuine.
Thirteen members of the jirga accused in the teen's death are in police custody.
The father of the girl said he wanted her killers to be burned alive.
"Our child was killed in a very barbaric manner. We are poor people who work hard to make ends meet. We want the culprits to be given the stiffest punishment. Those who are innocent should be released, but the actual culprit should be burned alive at the local chowk [village square]," he said.
Shehreen, an aunt of the girl, said she was a caring teenager.
"She never said anything to anyone. She loved children. Whenever she saw a child, no matter who it was, she would pick it up," she said.
The case underlines how weak local ties are to formal Pakistani justice and the central government.
Tribal councils, called jirgas in ethnic Pashtun areas and "panchayat" across Punjab and elsewhere, can act to fill that vacuum, and their decisions are usually made without controversy.
But events in Makol just over a week ago have highlighted the risks they pose.
More than 500 people are killed in Pakistan each year in so-called "honour killings," usually carried out by members of the victim's family meting out punishment for bringing "shame" on the community.
The fact that the area of Makol had no known history of such abuses, and was so close to the leafy, sophisticated capital, has added to the sense of revulsion.
"I am around 40 years old, but never before have I heard of such an incident in this entire belt. Never has such a thing happened here before. I would say it is the worst incident of our history here," said local resident Khaliq uz Zaman.
Other residents confirmed the village of around 5,000 people had no history of "honour killings" and said in other elopement cases the punishments meted out were relatively minor.
Most Pakistani newspapers reported Ambreen's death on their front pages, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, calling the murder un-Islamic and inhuman, called for her killers to be swiftly prosecuted.
Initial reports said that Ambreen was burned alive, but police now believe she was drugged and suffocated before her body was placed in a van and set alight.
The murder took place on April 29, but has only come to light after investigators pieced together what happened.