The Shangla Police on Tuesday claimed to have saved the life of a young girl from an attempted act of honour killing who was allegedly being taken from Mansehra to Kohistan to murder her.

According to a press release issued by the Shangla police department, the girl was a student of grade 10 and her parents were taking her to Kohistan under a “comprehensive plan” to murder her based on suspicion of talking to a boy on the phone.

After receiving information that the girl was being moved, the police interjected the vehicle en route at a checkpoint and took the girl under their custody, the statement said. It further said that the girl thanked the police for taking timely action and she would be presented in court after completing legal proceedings.

It added that the vehicle’s driver and the girl’s father, uncle and a relative were also taken into custody.

District Police Officer Imran Khan congratulated the team and issued strict instructions to protect the girl and fulfil all legal requirements.

Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Juma Rehman told Dawn.com that the girl was moved to a safer place, adding that she and the four suspects would be presented in court tomorrow. He said a first information report (FIR) was initially registered for possessing a pistol but the case for the incident would be filed after taking directions from the court.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered at the Bisham police station on the complaint of Additional Station House Office Mustafa Kamal under Section 15 of the Arms Act for carrying a pistol and cartridges without any legal documents.

Rehman said that he was alerted by the Shangla control room about a girl being taken to Kohistan by her father and uncle to murder her. He said the vehicle was intercepted and the girl and the other occupants were brought to the Bisham police station.

The police official said that as per details from the 17/18-year-old girl’s interrogation, she was a resident of Mansehra and a student of grade 10. Rehman said that according to the girl, she had began talking with a boy in her neighbourhood for the past four to five months, adding that he was an employee of the Kohistan police department.

She said she was busy talking to the boy earlier today when she was spotted by her parents, upon which the boy fled. Rehman said the girl was beaten by her parents and they were taking her to Kohistan to murder her for having a relationship with a boy.

He said their plan was foiled and the girl was taken into police custody while the others were arrested and legal proceedings were under way. The SDPO said the boy was currently present with his brother, MPA Fazal Haq.

In February, a woman and a man were shot dead, allegedly by the former’s father and brother, in the Kolai Pallas area of Kohistan district in an act of ‘honour’ killing.

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In November, a girl was killed allegedly by her father on the orders of a jirga in the Barsharyal area after social media pictures showed her and her friend in the company of two unrelated boys in their village, an act considered taboo in the area. The other girl was rescued by the police.

In October, police rescued an 18-year-old woman in the district after a jirga issued an honour killing decree for her after she was found to be in contact with a stranger over the mobile phone.

The woman had fled the area after the issuance of the jirga decree and sought protection at a police post before a magistrate recorded her statement and she was shifted to Darul Aman in Abbottabad.

Kohistan is a conservative and remote area where several “honour killings” have been reported in recent years.