The “barbaric” murder of the daughter of a former Pakistani ambassador on Tuesday prompted an outpouring of grief and anger on social media, stirring up debates over the safety and security of women in the country.
Noor Mukaddam, 27, was found beheaded in a house in an upscale neighbourhood in the capital Islamabad on July 20, TRT world reported.
Later that day, police arrested a suspect named Zahir Jaffer, a friend of the victim, at the scene. He was arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder.
The victim's father, Shaukat Mukaddam, has served as Pakistan's ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.
Thousands of people took to social media to demand justice for Noor Mukaddam's murder, recalling previous femicide victims, including at least two killed recently.
The outrage reignited a debate over the safety and security of Pakistani women.
"The horrific murder of young woman, Noor, in Islamabad is yet another horrifying reminder that women have been and are brutalized and slaughtered with impunity," Pakistan Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said on Twitter.
"This must end. We are committed to ensuring no one is above the law & culprits having influence & power cannot simply ‘get away,'" she said.
“Another day. Another woman brutally killed. Another hashtag. Another trauma. Another (likely) unsolved case,” wrote singer and actress Meesha Shafi on Twitter.
According to statistics collected by the White Ribbon, an anti-violence campaign group indicate that between 2004 and 2016, over 15,000 honour crime cases, 5,500 women's kidnappings, almost 5,000 sexual violence cases, and almost 2,000 cases of domestic violence were registered. 36,000 women committed suicides during the same period.
However, conviction rates remain low.
“If you are a man who thinks Pakistan is safe for women, either you don't talk to women, or women in your family/friends, don't trust you enough to tell you the truth,” stand-up comedian and podcast host Shehzad Ghias Shaikh wrote on Twitter.
On Saturday, Islamabad police arrested the parents and household staff of the prime suspect Zahir Jaffer -- for "hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime," Dawn reported.
According to reports, the suspect is the son of the CEO of a leading construction company based in Islamabad.
A police inquiry into the murder and its motives is ongoing while the suspect was remanded to custody.
