District and Sessions Judge Tariq Iftikhar directed police on Monday to record the statement of the sister of the woman who was killed by her relatives in front of the Lahore High Court on May 27.
The judge also ordered police to submit challan of the case expeditiously.
Khalida Bibi, the petitioner, told the judge police were reluctant to record her statement against those she called the “actual” culprits.
She said her family had filed a kidnapping complaint at Sayedwala police station against Parveen’s “so-called husband”, Muhammad Iqbal.She said Iqbal had filed a murder complaint against her father although he was himself responsible for Parveen’s killing. Bibi accused police and Iqbal of concealing the facts.
Earlier, Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Qayyum had asked Bibi to provide any evidence she had against Iqbal to police.
He had ordered the investigation officer to proceed against Iqbal if evidence was available against him.
Advocate Mansoorul Rehman, the counsel for Bibi, told the court Iqbal had killed his first wife to marry Parveen. He said Parveen was married to another man, Muzaffar Iqbal, on May 10, 2012.
The lawyer said Iqbal later kidnapped Parveen and that her family had registered a case against him, his son Aurangzeb and some other people.
Rehman said Iqbal also made Parveen file a suit for dissolution of her marriage with Muzaffar. The suit was withdrawn a few days later.
Later, Aurangzeb produced a nikkah nama before police claiming that his father had married Parveen and not abducted her.
Police investigated the matter and concluded that Parveen had married Iqbal without being divorced by Muzaffar, the lawyer said. He said police then registered a case under Section 494 (marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Rehman said Parveen then moved to Darul Aman where she told Bibi that she wanted to live with her parents.
“She told Bibi she was going to the high court on May 27… and that she wished to reunite with her family.”
Rehman said that Parveen had rushed to meet her family in the court but Iqbal had stopped her. “Iqbal feared that she would record a statement against him.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2014.