Sister-Killing Unnatural Breach of Trust: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court expressed concern over the increase in sororicide - killing of sister - tragedies in society.

While upholding the life imprisonment of a man who murdered his sister, the SC noted that sororicide is an unnatural breach of trust that reverberates through the community's conscience.

"Alarmingly, such tragedies are becoming increasingly visible in our society, shattering families and leaving society itself to grapple with the loss of its most fundamental bonds," said in a five-page judgment authored by Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim

Justice Ibrahim was part of a division bench led by Justice Muhammad Hasham Khan Kakar, which heard the appeal against a Lahore High Court (LHC) order that also upheld the petitioner's life imprisonment.

The petitioner's sister had contracted a marriage of her own choice. The petitioner disapproved of the marriage and murdered his sister approximately 16 to 17 years later.

The judgment said it is profoundly unfortunate that siblings, who share a bond of companionship, trust, and mutual care from childhood, should act in betrayal of this bond.

The court said when a brother takes his sister's life - the very person he is expected to protect, cherish, and love - it transcends mere criminality and becomes a grave moral rupture.

"Traditionally, a brother's care for his sister has been seen as a sacred responsibility, and to forsake this duty strikes at the heart of family bonds and the moral fabric of society," says the order.

- Author: Hasnaat Malik, The Express Tribune