Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif has described the stoning to death of a woman by her family
in front of a Lahore court as "totally unacceptable".
He ordered the chief minister of Punjab province to take "immediate action" and submit a report by Thursday evening.
Farzana Parveen, who was three months pregnant, was pelted
with bricks and bludgeoned by relatives furious because she married
against their wishes.
Her husband told the BBC that police simply stood by during the attack.
"They watched Farzana being killed and did nothing," her husband, Muhammad Iqbal, told the BBC.
There are hundreds of so-called "honour killings" in Pakistan each year.
This incident has prompted particular outrage as it took
place in daylight while police and members of the public apparently
stood by and did nothing to save her.
Mr Iqbal described the police as "shameful" and "inhuman" for their failure to stop the attack.
"We were shouting for help, but nobody listened. One of my relatives
took off his clothes to capture police attention but they didn't
intervene.," he added.
Arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry
against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply
conservative communities.
Shahzeb Jillani, BBC News, Karachi
This murder has appalled Pakistan's small but vocal civil
society. Social media activists took to Twitter and Facebook to express
their shock. English-language newspapers have published strongly-worded
editorials to denounce the brutal crime.
But all that is in sharp contrast to the muted reaction
in the mainstream Urdu language media which, instead, chose to focus on
political and security-related stories.
The killing of a woman in the name of honour remains an appalling reality in villages and towns across Pakistan.
As Dawn newspaper points out in its editorial:
"The most shocking aspect of this killing, however, is that all the
people witnessing the crime, even the law enforcers, were silent
spectators as a woman was bludgeoned to her death."
Ms Parveen's father later surrendered to police but other relatives who took part in the attack are still free.
"We arrested a few of them and others are currently being investigated," local police chief Mujahid Hussain said.
Ms Parveen came from a small town outside the city of Lahore.
According to reports, her family were furious because she decided to
marry Mr Iqbal instead of a man they had chosen.
Her relatives then filed a case for abduction against Mr Iqbal at the High Court.
"We were shouting for help, but nobody listened. One of my relatives
took off his clothes to capture police attention but they didn't
intervene.," he added.
Arranged marriages are the norm in Pakistan, and to marry
against the wishes of the family is unthinkable in many deeply
conservative communities
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