Perpetrators in Pakistan acquitted in 77% of honour killing cases: Study ISLAMABAD: January 09, 2012, Around 77 percent of honour

killing cases ended in acquittal of the accused, a pilot study on Honour Killing in Pakistan and Complia nce of Law revealed. The study report was launched by Aurat Foundations Legislative Watch Programme fo r Women Empowerment, stressing the need for a consolidated plan of action to ens ure implementation of the law against honour killing. The author of the report, Maliha Zia, said that lack of data from courts, catego risation of First Information Reports (FIRs) and reluctance of the people to com ment on honour killings were the main reasons affecting the implementation of th e law. The study showed that a lot of cases were highlighted in the media but were not reported with the police, and even if registered, not classified as honour killi ng. The language used in the FIRs was not gender sensitive, she said, adding that co urts usually gave decisions against the victims by using the provision of grave a nd sudden provocation. Maliha said that another factor which hindered the complia nce of law was the fact that most of the honour crimes were committed by family me mbers, the unwillingness of the family to lose another family member ended most of the cases in forced compromise. She said the institutions concerned also lacked the commitment for implementatio n of the law. Commenting on the implementation of the law, Aurat Foundation Chie f Operating Officer Naeem Ahmed Mirza stressed the need to look into the hurdles in the implementation of the law against honour killings, which was passed in 2 004. app http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\01\09\story_9-1-2012_pg7_17 --------