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Pakistan Police Make Arrest After Killing Of Activist


Pakistani police have arrested a man suspected of killing prominent activist Afzal Kohistani, who had campaigned against so-called "honor" killings.

Kohistani, 31, was shot dead on March 6 in the northwestern city of Abbottabad, police said on March 8.

Local police chief Abbas Majeed identified the suspect as 23-year-old Faizur Rahman, Afzal's nephew.

Police have registered a case against him and recommended that he be charged with murder, Majeed said.

Kohistani gained prominence in 2012, calling for justice after four of his female relatives and two of his brothers were killed after a video emerged of them singing and clapping to music.

Kohistani said a tribal council had ordered their executions for "breaching the honor" of the family, although no arrests were ever made.

Hundreds of women are killed every year in Pakistan in honor killings for violating what Pakistani conservatives consider traditions on love, marriage, and public behavior.

Pakistan's parliament passed legislation against honor killings in 2016, introducing tough punishment and removing a loophole in the law that allowed killers to walk free if pardoned by family members.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
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