Pakistan man killed daughters, grandchildren by setting house on fire over marriage feud, police say

Manzoor Hussain is being hunted by police after allegedly setting fire to his daughters’ home in a village in the Muzaffargargh district of central Pakistan

Both women and all four of their children died in the blaze. A police official said family rivalry over one of the daughter’s ‘love marriage’ was the cause

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Emergency services personnel gather near the bodies of victims who police say were burned alive in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, on Sunday. Photo: Punjab Emergency Service (Rescue 1122) Handout via Reuters

Reutersin Lahore, Pakistan

Published: 12:49pm, 18 Oct 2021Updated: 9:59pm, 18 Oct 2021

A father in Pakistan is suspected of killing his two daughters and their four children by setting their house ablaze because one of the women married against his wishes, police said.

Manzoor Hussain is being hunted by police after allegedly setting fire to the home that sisters Fauzia Bibi and Khurshid Mai shared in a village in the Muzaffargargh district of central Pakistan, police official Abdul Majeed said by phone. Mai’s husband also died in the blaze, Majeed said.

Bibi had married Mehboob Ahmad about 18 months ago against her father’s will in a so-called love marriage, according to the official, as opposed to an arranged marriage.

“The incident is outcome of the rivalry between the two families over the love marriage,” Majeed said.

Hussain, the father being searched for, lives in a nearby village, he added.

Bibi’s husband Ahmad told police he was not at home at the time of the fire and had found the house ablaze when he returned from work early in the morning, according to his statement to officers, seen by reporters.