RAWALPINDI: A district and sessions judge in Rawalpindi has ordered the arrest and production of the mother, sisters, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and uncle of Sidra Bibi, a married woman allegedly murdered on a jirga’s order for ‘honour’ in Rawalpindi in August.
During the hearing, District and Sessions Judge Abid Rizwan Abid took up the case of 17-year-old Sidra and approved the challan for trial.
The court issued notices for the production of nine accused currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail and directed the jail superintendent to present them on September 15.
The judge also ordered the arrest of absconding suspects, including Sidra’s mother, sisters, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and uncle.
A list of prosecution witnesses was also submitted, with the court noting that the trial would proceed swiftly.
Earlier, the court sent the six suspects — including the victim’s husband, father, and the head of a jirga — to jail on judicial remand.
Rawalpindi police had also added a kidnapping charge to the murder case after obtaining evidence that suggested that the woman was abducted with the intent to kill.
The arrested suspects admitted to bringing the woman back from Azad Jammu and Kashmir to kill her.
The jirga head had earlier confessed to bringing her from AJK, killing her, and burying her in the Pirwadhai graveyard.
Earlier, police recovered the victim’s bag and mobile phone on the suspects’ identification.
Police said that investigations were also under way into the vehicles used for travelling to and from AJK.
Earlier, authorities completed the court-ordered exhumation of her grave. Medical teams collected samples from the body during the forensic examination, which revealed evidence of violence.
Medical sources said the victim was strangled to death, with clear signs of torture visible on her face and head. “The victim’s face had turned blue, with visible marks of violence on her head and face when the body was exhumed for postmortem,” sources said. A female doctor compiled her official report after collecting all evidence.