HYDERABAD, Sept 18: Police head constable Karim Bux Shar whose daughter fled the husband’s house for fear of getting killed as kari and took refuge at Darul Aman said on Thursday that karo-kari was nothing but a money making business for the people, who declared their mothers, wives and sisters as karis and then killed them to make easy money.

The Pakistan Human Rights Development Organisation has appealed to the government to provide protection to Ms Gulshan Shar and her family who are being crucified at the altar of barbaric custom of karo-kari and order recovery of her brother, Hafiz Habibullah Shar, who has been missing for past many months.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club on Thursday, the organisation’s president Ghulam Hyder Arain, regional president Ms Shagufta Parveen and police constable Karim Bux Shar said that

Mr Arain said that the father of police constable Karim Bux, Hamal Shar, had developed illicit relations with a women in Dana Khan village of Shikarpur and when he was caught red-handed by a villager, who informed his wife, Hamal put his wife and the informer to death after declaring them as karo-kari.He said that Karim Bux was then only ten years old when his father married three other women from whom he had many children. Sometime back, Hamal Shar forcibly married Karim Bux’s daughter, Gulshan, to the son of Taj Mohammad, the stepbrother of Karim Bux and the daughter of Taj Mohammad to Karim’s son, Hafiz Habibullah.

He said that after her marriage, Gulshan was subjected to torture and she left the house of her in-laws on Aug 9, 2008, to take \refuge at the house of Sardar Ahmed Yar Shar. The stepbrothers of police constable Karim Bux had made his life miserable.

Mr Arain said that Karim Bux had narrated his woeful tale to Ms Zehra Shah, the in-charge of Sukkur women police station, who was also president of the organisation of ladies wing of Sukkur region.

He said that Zehra Shah sent Gulshan to Darul Aman and the story was splashed across electronic media. Zehra Shah was later removed by the DPO for criticising the feudal lords.

Arain was all praise for DIG Sukkur region, Basheer Ahmed Memon, who he said came to the rescue of police constable Karim Bux and not only provided him protection but also transferred him to Khairpur.

The DIG also praised the work of Zehra Shah, the president of the organisation said.

He said that the life of Gulshan and other members of his family was in grave danger as he was being issued murder threats on telephone.

Karim Bux and his family cannot remain safe at any place of interior of Sindh, Arain said and demanded that he should be transferred to Karachi and protection should be provided to his family.

He demanded that the son of Karim Bux, Hafiz Habibullah Shar, who had been missing since many months should be recovered.