Pak Man Films Brother Strangling Sister, Arrested

A Pakistani man who allegedly filmed his brother strangling their sister to death has been arrested as part of the latest “honour” killing that has outraged the country, police said Sunday.

Maria Bibi, 22, was killed overnight on March 17, allegedly by her brother Muhammad Faisal and in the presence of her father Abdul Sattar, near Toba Tek Singh town in the central-eastern province of Punjab.

A video filmed by the woman’s other brother Shehbaz, and which has gone viral, appears to show Faisal strangling the girl on a bed in the family home while their father sat nearby.

At one point, the video appears to show Shehbaz saying “father, tell him to let go”, but is rebuffed as his brother continues to strangle the motionless body for more than two minutes.

When Faisal is done, his father offers him water to drink.

“The police found out on March 24 that the girl had not died of natural causes. We registered a case, becoming the complainants ourselves,” Ata Ullah, a police official in Toba Tek Singh told AFP by phone.

Sattar and Faisal were immediately arrested, while Shehbaz was arrested on Saturday evening to determine the extent of his involvement, the officer said.