| Follow-up to our story earlier this week. |
Lahore (AsiaNews) – Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore, has condemned the murder of Hina Saleem, which took place in Italy at the hands of her father with the complicity of her entire family. “There is no justification of such killing for the sake for the family’s honour,” he told AsiaNews. In Pakistan honour killing remains a widespread phenomenon—some 1015 cases were reported last year.
Mohammed Saleem cut his daughterÂ’s throat on August 11 because she refused an arranged marriage and instead wanted to integrate into Italian society. Not only did she work in a bar where alcoholic beverages were served but, worse of all, she had entered in a common law relationship with a 30-year-old Italian man. For her family, the scandal was too much to bear.