Islamabad - A Pakistani lawmaker defended a decision by southwestern tribesmen to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands, and told stunned members of parliament this week to spare him their outrage.
"These are centuries-old traditions and I will continue to defend them," Israr Ullah Zehri, of Baluchistan province, said on Saturday.
"Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."
The women, three of whom were teenagers, were first shot and then thrown into a ditch.
They were still breathing as their bodies were buried in rocks and mud, according to human rights activists, who said their only "crime" was that they wished to marry men of their own choosing
Zehri told a flabbergasted parliament that Baluch tribal traditions helped stop obscenity. Then he asked fellow lawmakers not to make a big fuss about it.
Many stood up in protest, saying the executions were "barbaric" and demanding that discussions continue on Monday. But a handful said it was an internal matter.
"I was shocked," said lawmaker Nilofar Bakhtiar, who pushed for legislation calling for perpetrators of so-called honour killings to be punished when she served as minister of women's affairs.
"I feel we've gone back to the starting point again. It's really sad for me."
The brutal killings allegedly occurred one month ago in Baba Kot, a village in Jafferabad district, after the women decided to defy tribal elders and arrange marriages in a civil court, the Asian Human Rights Commission said.
They were abducted at gunpoint by six men and driven to a remote field, where they were beaten, shot and then buried alive, it said, accusing local authorities of trying to hush up the killings.
One of perpetrators was allegedly related to a top provincial official, the commission said. - Sapa-AP
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