KARACHI: A man suspected of killing his wife and three daughters with a dagger in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi and then attempting suicide with the same weapon was being treated at a local hospital, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
The suspected killer, identified only by his first name Fawad, allegedly killed his family in Karachi’s Shamsi Society. He was a sales manager at a local factory and currently admitted at Jinnah hospital.
“Fawad slaughtered his wife Huma, 30, and daughters Neha, 18, Fatima, 13 and Samra, 9, and then attempted to slit his own neck with the same dragger,” Senior Superintendent of Police Sajid Sadozai told Arab News, saying the suspect’s condition was critical.
Police said they did not as yet have a motive but the deaths add to the hundreds of women and girls killed in Pakistan each year, according to human rights groups, by family members angered at the perceived damage to their honor, which may involve eloping, fraternizing with men or any infringement of conservative values regarding women.
Sadozai said that the suspect’s mother and sister-in-law, who live in the ground portion of the same housing unit, broke the door and entered Fawad’s section.
“It’s impossible for any outsider to enter a house locked from inside with no other entry points available,” he argued, adding that initial investigation showed that Fawad had killed his own family members.
Sadozai said the suspect’s mother said the couple often fought and she also believed he was the killer.
“It was just a single scream by the suspect’s wife that alerted his sister-in-law, which prompted the family to break the door,” he said.
The suspect has not yet been interrogated by police as he was in critical condition in hospital, Sadozai added.