16 year girl burnt alive in Abbottabad for helping classmate elope

ABBOTTABAD: A 16 year old girl Ambreen was burnt alive in Galyat’s Makool village and there are allegations that it was done on the orders given by a local jirga last week, local media reported on Thursday.

According to media reports a 15 member jirga called by the Makool village councilor Pervez, ordered for the deceased Ambreen to be set on fire on charges for assisting her classmate to escape from the village to marry on her free will.

The charred body of the teenage girl was found in a torched Suzuki van in Donga Gali on last Friday.

The body was tied to the seat of the vehicle which was parked at a bus stop in the village. Another vehicle parked near the gutted van was also damaged. Police removed the body to Ayub Medical Complex for an autopsy.

The girl was later identified as the daughter of Riasat, a labourer who works in Balochistan’s Gadani area. A police official told media that the fire on the bus had occurred at 3 a.m.

According to Police officials the jirga ordered the murder to punish the girl for assisting her friend to escape from the village to marry on her free will.

Holding Jirga is common practice in the area but this is the first time an incident of this type has taken place, said a resident.

According to the Geo News Abbottabad police arrested 14 suspects including local councilor Muhammad Pervez, who presided over the Jirga, and the victim's mother.

Addressing a press conference, DPO Abbotabad Khurram Rasheed said that Pervez had confessed to the crime.

"Pervez called the victim outside her house on the night of April 28. He gave her something to eat which left her unconscious. She was tied, put in a vehicle and burnt to death," he said.

“The Jirga was not only illegal but also inhumane,” said DPO Rasheed.

The suspects were traced by their mobile phone calls, he said. Police has filed a case under murder and terrorism charges.