A man whose pregnant wife was stoned to death by angry relatives in Pakistan earlier this week has admitted that he killed his first wife so that he could remarry.
It's a disturbing twist to an already disturbing story that we reported on Tuesday of 25-year-old Farzana Parveen, who was after she eloped with Mohammed Iqbal instead of marrying a cousin as her family demanded.
The so-called "honor killing" occurred outside a courtroom in Lahore as Parveen was preparing to testify in defense of Iqbal, whom her father had accused of kidnapping the young woman.
Punjab's Deputy Inspector General for Police Zulfiqar Hameed tells The Associated Press that Iqbal was arrested in 2009 for killing his first wife, Ayesha Bibi, but that the case was later withdrawn after a family member forgave the culprit.
As the AP notes: "Under Pakistani law, those charged with a slaying can see their criminal case dropped if family members of the deceased forgive them or accept so-called 'blood money' offerings over the crime."
Via NPR. More at link.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/29/317160595/husband-of-woman-stoned-to-death-in-pakistan-killed-first-wife
This just gets odder and odder.
