Pakistan's lawmakers toughen penalty for 'honor' killings

ISLAMABAD -- Despite objections from religious hard-liners, lawmakers Thursday took the first significant move to curb mounting numbers of "honor" killings in Pakistan, stiffening the penalties and closing a loophole that allowed such killers to go free.

Public outrage has been growing in Pakistan in the wake of a string of particularly gruesome slayings.

More than 1,000 women were killed last year in so-called honor killings in Pakistan, often by fathers, brothers or husbands who believed the victims had tainted the family name by marrying the man of her choice -- or even meeting or being seen sitting with a man.

Those who carry out such killings almost never are punished.

In accordance with Islamic Shariah law, Pakistan's legal code since the 1990s has allowed families of victims to forgive the killer.

Because the killers in these cases are usually close relatives, the family almost always forgives them.

The measure passed Thursday imposes a mandatory 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of killing in the name of honor and bans family members from forgiving them.

Relatives can forgive only an honor killer who has been condemned to death, in which case the sentence is commuted to prison.

Activists and liberal opposition members who backed the law said it was a step in the right direction, although they said it should have gone further to eliminate forgiveness.

"Remove these clauses which allow the option of forgiveness; otherwise, these killings will keep happening," warned Sherry Rehman, an opposition legislator and fierce champion of women's rights, in a speech to parliament.

She pointed to the Oscar-winning documentary "Girl in the River" that told the story of a girl who survived an attempt by her uncle and father to kill her but then was forced to forgive them.

"We should be ashamed. We should all be ashamed. You should all be ashamed," she said of the forgiveness provisions.

The film prompted Pakistan's conservative Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to promise legislation to end the practice.

Only about a third of the 446 lawmakers attended the session, but debate was raucous, with the loudest opposition coming from hard-line Islamists.

Conservative Sen. Hafiz Hamdullah said parliament instead should address elopements by women, claiming 17,000 had done so since 2014.

"Why don't we see what are the reasons behind such killings? Why are girls eloping from their homes?" he said.

Speaking later to The Associated Press, he echoed a stance taken by many hard-liners that the law is bringing Western-style independence for women.

"They are trying to impose Western culture over here. We will not allow (it)," he said. "We will impose the law that our holy Quran and Sunnah (tradition) say."