"A baby girl was born... he was infuriated."
Police have arrested a Pakistani father for shooting dead his newborn daughter because he wanted his firstborn to be a boy.
The shocking incident happened in the city of Mianwali.
Shahzaib Khan had been married to Mashal Fatima since 2020. The woman gave birth to a girl named Jannat at the beginning of March 2022.
According to police, Shahzaib was angry with his wife because she gave birth to a girl.
On March 6, 2022, Shahzaib entered his house and demanded his wife to hand over the infant before shooting the week-old baby several times.
The baby was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead.
A murder case was registered based on a complaint from the victim’s uncle Hidayatullah Khan.
Hidayatullah explained that Shahzaib was “disturbed” over the birth of a girl as he wanted his firstborn to be a boy.
Hidayatullah said: “A baby girl was born… he was infuriated.”
Shahzaib’s anger prompted him to leave his family home and he refused to accept the baby girl as his daughter.
Hidayatullah said family members were in the house when the Pakistani father entered and told his wife to hand over the baby.
Hidayatullah said: “The suspect took the girl into his hands and shot her dead.”
The relative stated that he had tried to take the baby away from Shahzaib.
However, Shahzaib then pointed the gun at him and the other family members, threatening to shoot them if they got closer.
Mianwali District Police Officer (DPO) Ismail Kharak said that a police team had been assembled to arrest the suspect.
Mr Kharak said: “We have collected four spent bullets from the scene and strong evidence will be presented to the court to ensure justice.”
Punjab Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan took notice of the incident and sought a report from the Sargodha RPO.
The IG said perpetrators of violence against women and children do not deserve any leniency and the culprit would be penalised.
It was reported that Shahzaib fled the scene but was arrested on March 10, 2022.
The incident has caused outrage in Pakistan.
One Twitter user said: “This is beyond barbaric, brutal and vicious. The only solution to stop this brutality is hanging him publicly.”
Another wrote: “I’m disgusted to the core. I feel terribly for the mother. Look at the beautiful daughter she had. Women lead the world, it’s 2022.”
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