Pakistani woman is burnt alive for marrying against her family’s wishes

A woman in Pakistan burned her 17-year-old daughter alive to punish her for marrying against the family’s wishes, the latest in a series of so-called “honour killings” that claim the lives of nearly 1,000 women every year in the conservative Muslim country.

Police say Zeenat Rafiq’s mother, Parveen, tied her to a cot and drenched her with kerosene before lighting her on fire.

Neighbours in the working-class neighbourhood in Lahore came running when they heard the screams, but family members kept them from entering the house, said Nighat Bibi, who lives nearby.