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| 'Honour killings': Pakistan closes loophole allowing killers to go free | 'Honour killings': Pakistan closes loophole allowing killers to go free |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Pakistan's government has closed a loophole allowing those behind so-called "honour" killings to go free. | Pakistan's government has closed a loophole allowing those behind so-called "honour" killings to go free. |
| New legislation means killers will get a mandatory life sentence. | |
| Previously, killers could be pardoned by a victim's family to avoid a jail term. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty. | Previously, killers could be pardoned by a victim's family to avoid a jail term. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty. |
| It is being seen as a step in the right direction in a place where attacks on women who go against conservative rules on love and marriage are common. | It is being seen as a step in the right direction in a place where attacks on women who go against conservative rules on love and marriage are common. |
| According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), nearly 1,100 women were killed by relatives in Pakistan last year in such killings, while many more cases go unreported. | |
| 'First step' | |
| In recent months, a number of high-profile deaths have made headlines both in Pakistan and abroad, including the killing of British woman Samia Shahid in July, allegedly by her father and her former husband. | |
| The same month, Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death, allegedly killed by her brother in an apparent "honour killing" in the province of Punjab. | |
| The amended law was debated by Pakistan's National Assembly for four hours on Thursday, before being passed unanimously. | |
| Campaigners have been calling for tougher legislation to protect women from violence for years. | |
| A 2005 amendment to the law pertaining to honour killings prevented men who kill female relatives pardoning themselves as an "heir" of the victim. | |
| Pakistani activist Sharmeen Obaid paid tribute to the people who had worked to get the bill through in a Facebook post. | |
| "It may not change much over night but it is certainly a step in the right direction," she added. "And today I am proud that we have gone the distance on this bill." | |
| A controversial law which may prove a deterrent: By M Ilyas Khan, BBC News, Islamabad | |
| The bill - pending for a long time - has now been passed by both houses of parliament, which means they will soon make it to the statute books. | |
| But it is yet to be seen how effective a deterrent the anti-honour killing law may prove. | |
| The crime is often committed either as a result of sudden provocation or under tremendous social pressure. Killers have largely enjoyed impunity due to a legal provision under which a relative of the victim could pardon the perpetrator. | |
| That clause has now been tweaked to ensure the offender pays the price. This may prove to be deterrent in the long run. | |
| In rape cases, the parliament has for the first time introduced a provision allowing DNA tests to ascertain identity of the offender. Experts believe this will effectively cover up for the weakness in the previous legislation that relied heavily on circumstantial evidence. |