Shocking 'Non Events' of Local Pakistani News

One of the most fascinating things to do in Pakistan is to read the local newspapers. The stories that you find in tiny blurbs deep within the paper would make for shocking headlines in North America or Europe, but here they don't even make waves. Some of the most shocking stories don't even have their own headlines! Here's a snapshot from the Pakistan newspaper "The News"; keep in mind that these 'run of the mill' stories did not even show up on the front page.

March 21, 2009

A thirty-year-old woman, named Lubna, was killed by her brother after she allegedly had an extra marital affair. In Bahawalpur, a man stoned his sixteen-year-old daughter and her 'paramour' to death with bricks after finding them in a 'compromising position.' A 'compromising position' could be as innocent as holding hands or sitting together on a park bench. Girls have been killed by their own families for less.

Another young woman, aged 28, was found hanging from the ceiling fan by a shawl. The newspaper claims it was suicide: "As she was issueless since her marriage, she was perturbed over it." In plain English: she was barren and depressed. Her father claims the death must have been accidental. How can you accidentally hang yourself from a ceiling fan?

A sixty-year-old truck driver was electrocuted while en route in the Punjab. He got out to change his tire and came in contact with a live wire. In Nehranwala, a reckless tractor driver went on a rampage to seek revenge against a group of bikers. Four men were injured by the tractor.

The people took justice into their own hands and beat a man to death after he shot an army officer's wife. The officer's wife died from the wound, and the angry crowd chased down the killer.

A young man named Usman Ali was killed while pulling a wheelie on his motorbike, or as the paper puts it, "he expired."

In better news, five quacks were arrested.

March 22, 2009

Pakistani English euphemisms are great. On this date the paper reports of a "man deprived of car."

One of the most disturbing stories I came across during this foray into the local paper is as follows. It is quoted directly from The News:

"A 32-year-old woman succumbed to her injuries on Saturday, six days after her husband allegedly set her ablaze over domestic issues on March 16. The victim's husband got infuriated and set his wife on fire after sprinkling kerosene oil on her. "

In other news, a woman threw her illegitimate baby into the trash to avoid disgrace. The body was found torn by dogs.

I do think Pakistan is a lovely country, but the local news will often cause your stomach to churn and your heart to break for this land.

Source:

The News
Dawn
The Nation