Murdered for marrying the man of her choice:  17-year-old Zeenat Rafiq

Zeenat Rafiq, 17, had been lured to the home on the pretext that the family would be having a wedding ceremony for her

Her mother Parveen, tied her to a bed and drenched the teen with kerosene before being setting her on fire

Victim’s husband Hassan Khan, says his wife expressed fear of being  killed when his mother-inlaw extended the invitation

Parveen confessed to killing her daughter with the aid of her son and expressed no regrets for the murder

A 17-year-old Pakistani bride, Zeenat Rafiq, 17, was allegedly set ablaze by her mother because she did not approve of her daughter’s choice of groom. The remorseless mother has been accused of burning her daughter alive because she eloped with a man her family didn’t approve of.
Police reports allege that when her body was discovered, Zeenat  had been tied to a bed and drenched with an accelerant [kerosene] before being set on fire. Witnesses Neighbours responding to the teen’s screams of anguish were held back by the family members from entering the house,
When cops  eventually arrived at the house in Lahore, Pakistan, they found the charred body near a suitcase before arresting her mother Parveen. The police reports also said the body showed signs of beating and strangulation.
The victim’s husband, Hassan Khan, said that his wife feared she was going to be killed in the days before her alleged murder. Speaking to reporters Mr Khan said Zeenat’s mother and uncle had visited her three days ago to try to persuade her to return home and have a marriage ceremony with the family, so that she would not be branded as someone who had eloped.
Hassan Khan showed reporters their marriage certificate in Lahore, Pakistan
He recalled his wife telling him: “Don’t let me go, they will kill me.”
Mr Khan said the two had been “in love since our school days” but the family had rejected several marriage proposals, forcing them to elope last month.
He showed an affidavit of consent signed by his wife before a magistrate as well as mobile phone photos of a smiling Zeenat wearing a red dress.
Yhe investigating police officer, said Zeenat’s mother Parveen, confessed to killing her daughter with the help of her son Ahmar and quoted the woman as saying, “I don’t have any regrets.”