Lahore: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Saturday jailed the father of a young pregnant woman who was stoned to death for marrying a man of her choice.
The police presented Muhammad Azeem before the ATC Lahore on the expiry of his seven-day physical remand and told it that they did not require more remand of the accused as they had interrogated him and recorded his statement.
On this the judge sent Azeem to jail on judicial remand.
Police sources told a news agency that Azeem did not confess to have taken part in stoning his daughter Farzana Parveen, 25.
They said Azeem in his statement to police said his two sons and a former husband of Farzana were the main accused.
On May 27, three-month-old pregnant Farzana was on her way to the Lahore High Court along with her husband Muhammad Iqbal, 45, to appear in a case when her father, two brothers and some other relatives allegedly attacked them on Fane Road near the court with bricks. She died on the spot while Iqbal remained unhurt.
Farzana`s brothers - Zahid and Mustafa - her former husband Mazhar, her two cousins and an uncle have been remanded in police custody for a seven days.
Farzana had a love marriage with Iqbal, both residents of Nankana Sahib, 80 kilometres from Lahore, a few months ago.
Her family had accused Iqbal of kidnapping her.
It also claimed that Farzana was already married to her cousin Mazhar and Iqbal had lured her into a second marriage without getting divorce from her first husband.
Iqbal had killed his first wife some six years ago but was freed from jail after his son, the complainant in the case, pardoned him.
Meanwhile, Lahore police have submitted a report of the incident to the Supreme Court. In its report, the police said, "Farzana was already married once before and had not disclosed that marriage before she wed Mohammad Iqbal, on whose behalf she was supposed to testify the day she was murdered outside the Lahore High Court".
The report said the victim had married her cousin Mazhar two years ago, but later ran away from home to marry Iqbal on January 7, 2014.
"She never told Iqbal about her first husband. Iqbal already stood accused of murdering his first wife Asha Bibi. A case was registered against him in October 2009 in Nankana Sahib and he was later declared a proclaimed offender. He was arrested on April 28, 2013 but was later released. After she ran away with Iqbal, Farzana`s first husband Mazhar registered another case in Nankana Sahib, on the basis of which he was arrested again. Farzana then sought relief from a judicial magistrate in Pakpattan, who sent her to the local Darul Aman," the report said.
The report further said when Iqbal was released on bail, he recovered Farzana from the Darul Aman and filed a writ petition before the Lahore High Court, asking for the FIR against him to be quashed.
Farzana was heading to court to record her statement in this matter when she was attacked and murdered, it said.
The report further said at the time of incident no police personnel were deployed or present at the crime scene.